Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned that his country won’t tolerate attacks on its citizens, after rockets from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel for the second time in 10 days.

Two rockets hit open areas late Wednesday and no injuries were reported, the military said. Israeli aircraft struck three sites in Hamas-ruled Gaza in response, it said in an e-mailed statement.

“I don’t recommend testing Israel’s patience on this terrorism,” Ya’alon said Thursday in an e-mailed statement. “We won’t compromise the security of the citizens of Israel and won’t agree to return to sprinklings of rockets.”

The border area is heating up 11 months after Israel began a 50-day offensive against Gaza militants who had barraged Israeli territory with rockets. While the sides have largely maintained the truce that ended the fighting in August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after last week’s rocket attack that he will do everything needed to maintain quiet on the Gaza border.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for attacks on it even if they are carried out by “rogue gangs from global jihad groups” that want to challenge Gaza’s rulers by firing at Israel, Ya’alon said.