JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli retaliatory airstrikes hit what the country’s military called "two extensive terror sites" in the northern Gaza Strip.
Tuesday’s attacks followed the firing of three mortar shells at southern Israel from Gaza earlier in the day.
On Wednesday morning, two more rockets fired from Gaza landed near Sderot as children were making their way to school. It was the first school day since the Passover holiday break began some two weeks ago.
On Tuesday night, Israeli troops shot at targets in Syria after two incidents in which shots fired from Syria targeted Israeli border patrols.
"IDF forces returned precise fire at the source and reported a direct hit," according to the Israel Defense Forces, which filed an official protest with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force.
The cross-border fire with Syria came just hours after Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon toured the northern border for the first time in his new post.
"Israel has no intention of ignoring fire from Syria toward Israeli territory, incidental or not, and will respond with a firm hand," Yaalon said Wednesday morning. "As soon as we identify the source of the fire, we will take it down without hesitation, as we did last night and in previous cases. As far as we are concerned, the Syrian regime is to be held responsible for everything happening in its territory."
