JERUSALEM, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said Monday it struck a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip in response to an infiltration attempt by Gaza militants a day earlier.
Israel Air Force fighter jets hit a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson said the strike was in response to an incident on Sunday, in which several suspects crossed the fence from Gaza and implanted two explosive devices near the fence.
The suspects were not identified but the military said that Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian group that runs Gaza, "is responsible for all events originating from the Gaza Strip and their consequences."
The incident came amidst a six-week protest, dubbed the "Great March of Return," involving tens of thousands of protesters that march on Fridays from the besieged Palestinian enclave towards the fence. The protesters demand Israel to acknowledge Palestinian refugees' right to return to their lands before the 1948 war, known also as Israel's Independence War.
The protests are expected to culminate next month, when Israel will mark its 70th Independence Day and the Palestinians will commemorate the "Nakba," or the "catastrophe."
