Israel launches second strike against Hamas in Gaza

JERUSALEM, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched on Saturday a second strike on a Hamas post in the Gaza Strip, saying it was a response to a rocket fire from the coastal enclave a day before.

"This evening IAF (Israel Air Force) fighter jets targeted an observation post belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the southern Gaza Strip," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

The strike came a day after Gaza militants fired three rockets toward Israel. Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-rocket system while a third hit a building in a community in the regional council of Sha'ar Ha'negev, causing no injury.

About an hour after the rockets were fired, Israel launched the first strike, targeting two Hamas posts. Hamas said there were no injuries in the strike.

No group in Gaza has claimed responsibility for the rockets attack but similar launches were usually made by Hamas and other radical Islamist groups.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said an inspection of the rockets found the projectiles were "made by Iran."

The military said it sees the rockets attack a "severe incident" which "proves once more that Iran, through radical and rogue terror organizations, is operating to deteriorate the situation." Enditem