An Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft on Friday evening hit a rocket launcher in northern Gaza.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the attack “was meant to remove the immediate threat of rocket firing into Israel.”

Gaza rocket attacks have been on the increase in recent weeks. Two Fridays ago, the calm of Shabbat was interrupted in southern Israel as terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at the region.

The rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no physical injuries or damages.

Only an hour earlier, a Gaza rocket exploded in an open area in the Hof Ashkelon Region. There were no physical injuries or damages in this attack as well.

In both cases, the “Red Alert” siren was heard in surrounding communities before the explosion, forcing local residents into shelters.

Gaza’s steady upswing in rocket attacks came after Hamas gave terrorists the “green light” to open fire by withdrawing its forces that were deployed to prevent such rocket fire. That force was redeployed, but this has had little effect.