Israel's military revealed on Tuesday that Gaza's Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group was involved in a failed attempt to launch a drone toward Israel's Tamar offshore gas rig during this past weekend's Operation Breaking Dawn.
The terrorist group's unsuccessful launch of an unmanned aircraft from Gaza prompted Israel's army to step up its efforts to protect the platform located 14 miles off the coast of Ashkelon in southern Israel.
During the 11-day conflict with Hamas in May 2021, the terrorist rulers of the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets toward Tamar, missing the intended target, which is protected by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system and other defensive measures.
Fuel was removed from the rig and it was temporarily taken offline at the start of the fighting between Hamas and Israel. The move during last year's conflict with Hamas came at the order of then-energy minister Yuval Steinitz’s office.
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Iron Dome missile defense launched to intercept rocket fire from Gaza
(Photo: Reuters )
According to Israeli military estimates, the PIJ launched around 1,175 rockets from the Palestinian coastal enclave at Israel during the three days of conflict that ended late Sunday night with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
About 200 fell short within the Gaza Strip. Two of the misfires resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people, including seven children.