The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has launched a barrage of missiles towards the sea in what is seen as another warning to the Israeli regime in the face of the ongoing blockade on the Gaza Strip and repeated acts of aggression against the impoverished enclave. Rasa - At least eight rockets were seen in the sky to cheers from residents of the besieged coastal sliver on Monday, and headed toward the Mediterranean Sea.
The rockets were a “message” to Israel to let it know that resistance groups in Gaza will not “remain silent” in the face of the Israeli blockade and “aggression,” an unnamed source close to Hamas told AFP.
The source noted that the rocket fire coincided with the recent launch of incendiary balloons from the Strip into the occupied territories.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry later hailed the rockets as “an act of resistance” in a statement.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli land, air and sea blockade since June 2007, after Hamas, which has vowed to resist Israeli occupation, rose to power in the enclave, where two million people live.
Since then, the regime has been launching incessant aerial attacks on the territory for, what observers call, self-serving reasons. Since imposing the siege, it has also brought Gaza under three wholesale wars, killing thousands of Palestinians in each.
The crippling Gaza blockade has caused a sharp decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty in the strip.