The Air Force struck at terrorists twice Monday morning, eliminating two Hamas terrorists and hitting a targeted terrorist cell that fired on soldiers Monday morning. Two other terrorists were wounded in the aerial counterterrorist operation in northern Gaza.

The IAF also targeted a terrorist cell that fired a mortar shell towards soldiers at the Gaza security fence at dawn Monday, an IDF spokeswoman told Arutz Sheva, wounding three terrorists. The soldiers were not injured.

The rapid IDF response followed several Kassam rockets that misfired and landed on the Gaza side of the security fence. The spokeswoman said that previous reports in other Israel media on explosions in the Western Negev were incorrect.

Color Red sirens sounded in the middle of the night in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, which includes Sderot, and Hof Ashkelon.

The attempted attacks and the firing on soldiers may have been timed to coincide with this week’s large-scale Home Front Command drill on how to respond to disasters.

Last week, Kassam rockets exploded in the Eshkol region, and Monday’s attempted launches should be taken seriously, said Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council chairman Alon Shuster.

“The harassment of people and the danger of the missiles continue as they have for 12 years, and apparently it will continue,” he said.