Israel Defense Forces launched retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza late Saturday night, following the landing of two rockets fired from Gaza off the Tel Aviv shore on Saturday morning.

"Fighter jets and helicopters attacked a series of targets inside a Hamas rocket manufacturing facility," the IDF claimed in a statement.

Additionally, Israeli tanks bombarded Hamas military positions near Gaza's Israeli border.

According to Hamas media, Israeli jets bombed a Hamas outpost west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while tanks targeted outposts in northern Gaza.

"Hamas is solely responsible for all activity occurring in and emanating from the Gaza Strip," the IDF stated.

Palestinian media initially reported the airstrikes in the southern area of the Strip shortly before midnight.

Khatib/AFP)
Israel Defense Forces launched retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza late Saturday night, following the landing of two rockets fired from Gaza off the Tel Aviv shore on Saturday morning.

"Fighter jets and helicopters attacked a series of targets inside a Hamas rocket manufacturing facility," the IDF claimed in a statement.

Additionally, Israeli tanks bombarded Hamas military positions near Gaza's Israeli border.

According to Hamas media, Israeli jets bombed a Hamas outpost west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while tanks targeted outposts in northern Gaza.

"Hamas is solely responsible for all activity occurring in and emanating from the Gaza Strip," the IDF stated.

Palestinian media initially reported the airstrikes in the southern area of the Strip shortly before midnight.

In an uncommon revelation, Hamas media stated that during the Israeli bombings, "resistance fighters" launched "experimental rockets" toward the sea. According to Hamas allegations, the terror group also shot on an Israeli military helicopter.

Earlier Saturday, unnamed Israeli defense officials told Hebrew media that the military would reply to the two missiles launched from the Gaza Strip earlier in the day that fell off the shore of Tel Aviv.

"There will be retaliation; this is a grave and intolerable incident. "Not even the final word has been spoken," a defense insider told Kan news.

According to the Walla news site, Israel communicated to Egyptian mediators that it regards rocket fire as a serious concern, particularly in light of Wednesday's shooting of an Israeli citizen on the Gaza border.

Israel's defense authorities stated that they were attempting to respond in a way that would "avoid escalation but convey the message that border incidents and rocket launches are unacceptable."

According to Al-Mayadeen TV in Beirut, citing unnamed sources, the Hamas terror group notified Egyptian mediators that if Israel bombs Gaza, there will be retaliation.

Egypt reportedly pleaded with Israel not to respond to the rocket launch in any way.

The IDF reported Saturday morning that two missiles were launched from Gaza toward central Israel. According to a video circulating on social media, one exploded in the sea off the shore of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv. At the same time, the second landed off the coast of Palmachim, south of Rishon Lezion.

According to Kan, Israeli officials believe the missile firing was carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, not Gaza's rulers, Hamas. Hamas communicated to Israel via Egyptian mediators that it was not responsible for the attack, according to the network.

Armed factions in Gaza have attributed the missile fire to "weather conditions" and denied a deliberate attack on Israel. Previously, terrorist groups claimed that lightning strikes were to blame for igniting missiles, though Israel has occasionally cast doubt on such claims.

Israel allegedly notified Egypt that the incident was unacceptable regardless of whether the rockets were launched accidentally.

According to Al-Mayadeen and Palestinian media reports, Islamic Jihad upped its alert level and left its outposts in the Strip on Saturday afternoon, anticipating an Israeli response.

According to Al-sources, Mayadeen's Islamic Jihad's military wing has been instructed by the group's leadership to be prepared to intervene in the event of the death of a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner.

According to his lawyers, Hisham Abu Hawash, a Palestinian from the small village of Dura near Hebron, has been on a hunger strike for 137 days, protesting his arrest by Israel.

Hamas also said in a statement that it was closely monitoring Abu Hawash's condition, stating that he is being subjected to a "slow execution."

Palestinian factions in Gaza have often threatened to retaliate against hunger-striking detainees. The majority of these threats have not materialized; in most situations, Israeli authorities have agreed not to continue detainees' incarceration, or the prisoners have decided to cease their fast.

Saturday's rocket attack came in response to an Israeli civilian being shot on the Gaza border on Wednesday, forcing Israel's army to launch retaliation attacks.

The Israeli guy suffered minor injuries while working for a civilian contractor hired by the Defense Ministry to maintain the recently finished security barrier dividing Israel from the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli army said tanks targeted numerous Hamas sites in northern Gaza following the gunfire. Three Palestinians were wounded, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The episodes occurred following a period of relative calm and amid solid efforts to establish a stable, long-term truce following a massive escalation of violence last May. Thousands of projectiles were thrown towards Israel, and the IDF responded with strikes.

However, new reports indicate efforts to broker a deal in which Hamas would release two Israeli civilians. The remains of two suspected IDF troops have halted, most likely in return for Palestinian detainees, have stalled.