UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday condemned the series of rocket attacks against Israel that were launched from Gaza and provoked swift Israeli retaliation.The UN Secretary's press office said in a statement, "The Secretary-General strongly condemns the multiple rocket attacks today on Israel from Gaza, for which Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility.""While reports of damage and injuries are still being ascertained, [Ban] deplores the severe escalation of violence," it said. "He urges all actors to exercise maximum restraint to prevent further incidents that could bring greater escalation and destabilization in the region."The UN was not the only foreign diplomat to condemn the Palestinian aggression.US Representative Grace Meng (Democrat-NY), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, released the following statement condemning the rocket attacks from Gaza: “I condemn in the strongest terms today’s rocket attacks from Gaza against innocent Israelis. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by these acts of terrorism. I was in Sderot this past August and was both pained and inspired by how the people there have coped with such vicious rocket attacks."The congresswoman added that, "Provocative rocket attacks like these will result only in greater hardship for Israelis and Gazans, nothing more. These mindless acts of violence must stop immediately.”The rocket fire, which police said has resulted in no casualties, was claimed by the Islamic Jihad group and came a day after Israel killed three of its members in a Gaza air strike.In response, Israeli jets hit 29 targets in the Gaza on Wednesday, largely Islamic Jihad targets, after Palestinian militants in the coastal territory fired 60 rockets into Israel in the heaviest barrage since 2012.The Iron Dome anti-rocket battery stationed in Sderot shot down three projectiles over the town. Eight rockets exploded in built-up areas, but none caused injuries, the army said.
Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Israel would not go back to its daily routine.“We will not allow Islamic Jihad or any other element in the Strip to disrupt life in the South,” he said. “It won’t be quiet in Gaza either, in a way that will cause Islamic Jihad terrorists to regret the attacks they carried out.
