Israel bombs Gaza after rocket fire, deadly Nablus raid
Al JazeeraFeb 23, 2023
A day after an Israeli raid in the West Bank resulted in at least 11 Palestinians being killed and over 100 injured on Wednesday, militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel. In response, Israel's military conducted airstrikes reportedly targeting a weapons manufacturing site belonging to Hamas.
Palestinian fighters fired six rockets at dawn, five of which were intercepted, according to the Israeli military. Israeli warplanes quickly responded by hitting two alleged Hamas military sites. Though no group has claimed responsibility for the rockets, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had warned of retaliation following Wednesday's raid.
When Israel commits a massacre in the occupied West Bank, it's a security operation, but when Palestinians retaliate, it's terrorism. The resistance to the occupation is expanding across the West Bank, and Israeli actions like this only harden the resolve of the Palestinian people. Emboldened by international silence after killing more Palestinians last year than in any other calendar year since the Second Intifada, it's Israel that's becoming even more violent.
These airstrikes show that Israel's defense establishment is prepared to take any action needed to ensure peace for its citizens. Though such a response to Wednesday's Nablus raid was already anticipated, connecting events in Gaza and the West Bank is a dangerous precedent that threatens the very existence of the state of Israel. Israel will always defend itself.
There's a 44% chance that Israel will recognize Palestine by 2070, according to the Metaculus prediction community.