A rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday morning setting off alerts in an area north of the terrorist enclave, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds brigade said around the time of the rocket launch that it was engaging in a military exercise with live ammunition.
The terrorist group said that the exercise simulated raids on Israeli military sites and fortifications using combined arms, including special forces, rockets, artillery, armor, and intelligence units.
PIJ issued a statement on Tuesday decrying what it said were crimes against Al-Aqsa, calling for continued "resistance operations" and "clashes with the enemy in all arenas" to protect Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Palestinian media has asserted that Israeli worshipers have “stormed” the Temple Mount during the Sukkot holiday.
"Walking the path of jihad and resistance that leads us to liberating the land and the holy sites,” said the terrorist organization.
Ali Abu Shaheen, PIJ Politburo head, told Shams News Agency on Monday that the terrorist organization had become the "spearhead" in confronting the "Zionist project."
The terrorist leader praised PIJ's survival in two major confrontations, possibly referencing the 2022 Operation Breaking Dawn and the 2023 Operation Home and Garden. Abu Shaheen said that continued resistance was an existential issue for Palestinians, with the need to stop the annexation of the West Bank, Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, and Judaization of the territory. He however decried internal squabbles between the Palestinian people, and those willing to barter for financial gain, both of which helped Israel.
PIJ issued a statement on Tuesday decrying what it said were crimes against Al-Aqsa, calling for continued "resistance operations" and "clashes with the enemy in all arenas" to protect Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Palestinian media has asserted that Israeli worshipers have “stormed” the Temple Mount during the Sukkot holiday. The Israel Police on Monday emphasized that there had been no change to the status quo at the holy site as it arrested three Palestinian nationalists who attempted to stoke tensions at the Temple Mount.
Daily riots on Gaza border
The Gaza border had seen unrest in recent weeks, with near-daily riots. Israeli forces have fallen under repeated gunfire and explosive attack from amid the riots, leading to Israel forces to return fire. The IDF has also hit unmanned Hamas posts with tank and drone strikes. Terrorist groups have resumed incendiary balloon attack on Israeli territory, sparking multiple fires.