JERUSALEM: Israel and Islamic Jihad exchanged fire in the Gaza Strip for a second day on Monday, a week before the Jewish state’s March 2 election.

Islamic Jihad, a group allied to Gaza’s rulers Hamas, fired more than 20 rockets and mortars towards Israel late in the morning, the Israeli military alleged, with the majority intercepted by the country’s air defence systems.

Israeli fighter jets and helicopters then targeted a number of Islamic Jihad bases in the strip, including “a military compound in Khan Yunis used by the Islamic Jihad for training and weapons storage,” the army claimed, referring to an area in southern Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side but one projectile from Gaza landed in an empty school playground.

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for re-election as well as preparing to face trial on corruption charges, warned that Israel was prepared to retaliate with more force.

“Hamas and Islamic Jihad need to understand -- this cannot continue,” he said in a statement after discussions with his security chiefs.

“If they do not stop the fire completely... we will carry out the extensive campaign we have prepared.” On Sunday, in response to Israel’s killing of a militant along the border, Islamic Jihad launched more than 20 rockets from Gaza into Israel.

Israel’s army said it then targeted the group both in Gaza and on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus.

The Syria strikes killed two Islamic Jihad fighters and four other Iran-backed militants, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting Iranian forces and the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, as well as government troops.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2020