Palestinian resistance groups retaliate against Israel’s airstrikes on Khan Yunis, Rafah crossing

Palestinian resistance groups have fired rockets into Israel in response to the regime’s fresh airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip for the second night in a row.

The air raids targeted several areas including the town of Khan Yunis and the Rafah border crossing south of the Gaza city.

Palestinian sources in Gaza Strip say Israeli airstrikes on Rafah damaged residential homes and electricity network.

In retaliation, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas fired rockets toward Israel.

The airstrikes came hours after the United Nations’ Middle East envoy warned about catastrophic consequences of a new outbreak of violence in Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov said the situation is extremely tense despite the declaration of a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Israeli prime minister had also warned that Tel Aviv is prepared for further military actions in the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military has also deployed artillery and tank brigades along the so-called buffer zone with Gaza.

The new Israeli aggression against the coastal enclave came after Tel Aviv authorities said earlier on Monday that a long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip had struck an area near Tel Aviv in central Israel, wounding seven people.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, came a day after Israeli warplanes bombed the besieged enclave ahead of the anniversary of Gaza fence protests at the weekend.

It forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his trip to Washington immediately after meeting US President Donald Trump later on Monday, his office said.

A Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Monday, “No one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy.”

He added that the same message had been conveyed to Egypt, which intervened to broker a ceasefire and prevent Israel from launching another war on Gaza after tensions escalated last year.