The Israel Defense Forces said they had launched airstrikes on a “unique” underground rocket manufacturing facility used by the Hamas terror group. It released a satellite photo of what it said was the site, showing an area near several buildings and plots of land on the northwestern edge of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. He said it was the third such facility hit since April. “The strike was carried out in response to rockets fired from Gaza into Israeli territory earlier this afternoon,” the IDF said in a statement shortly before 4am. The commander of the IDF’s Southern Command’s so-called “fire center,” which coordinates the unit’s offensive operations, said the site was shelled with 19 tons of ammunition. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms “It will have the effect of harming the efforts of the Hamas terrorist group to organize and arm itself,” said Colonel Youd, who can be identified only by the Hebrew initial of his first name. Imagine with me the amount of psychological trauma to the people of Gaza as a result of the occupation bombing tonight! pic.twitter.com/Jtm1MG8tXr – Ahmed Hegazy ???????????? (@ahmedhijazee) November 4, 2022 The Palestinian Shehab news agency reported that a “resistance site” in al-Maghazi was hit. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Photos shared on social media showed fireballs and smoke in Gaza from the airstrikes. Successive strikes could be seen hitting the same area repeatedly in unverified video footage as jets could be heard screeching overhead. Images from the airstrikes launched by the occupation aircraft on the site of the 13th Battalion of the Palestinian Resistance in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/NsdYOXFaHh — Shehab News Agency (@ShehabAgency) November 4, 2022 Amid the raids, the Palestinians apparently fired heavy machine guns at Israeli aircraft over the coastal enclave. At least one house in the southern city of Sderot was hit by a large bullet as they fell back to earth. Heavy machine gun fire from Gaza amid IDF raids apparently hit a house in Sderot. pic.twitter.com/ihovAa5Ugu — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 4, 2022 The retaliatory attack came after four rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Thursday. One missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system over a border town and the other three fell in the Strip, according to the Israeli military. There were no reports of injuries or damage following the rocket attacks. No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the rockets, but the IDF said it held Hamas responsible. The rocket fire came hours after a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was killed during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. The Gaza-based PIJ identified Farouk Salameh as the terror group’s “commander”. In a joint statement, the IDF and Border Police said Salameh was involved in the killing of a veteran police commando earlier this year and was planning further attacks. In this undated photo, Farouk Salameh is seen wearing a Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform in the West Bank city of Jenin. (Social media) Israel generally responds with airstrikes against Hamas sites regardless of which group launches the attack, noting that it is responsible for any attacks originating from within the territory. More rarely, it has turned its response to Islamic Jihad if the terrorist group has claimed responsibility. The last time rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into Israel was during a three-day battle against Islamic Jihad in August, during which it fired about 1,175 rockets. Tensions have flared in the West Bank recently as the IDF continues an anti-terrorist offensive focused mainly on the northern West Bank, although the violence has generally not spilled over into Gaza. The campaign has netted more than 2,000 arrests in almost nightly raids, but has also left more than 125 Palestinians dead, many of them—but not all—while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces. Earlier on Thursday, Israel announced it was removing checkpoints in and out of the city of Nablus. Israel imposed the restrictions weeks ago, hitting the city in response to a new terrorist group known as the Lions. The army has carried out repeated operations in the city in recent weeks, killing or capturing top commanders of the group. The IDF’s counter-terror offensive in the West Bank was launched after a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people earlier this year. An Israeli man was killed in an attack in Hebron on Saturday, another woman was killed in a suspected attack in September and four soldiers were killed in the West Bank in attacks and during arrest operations. You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. 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