[Ma'an] Since shortly before midnight on Tuesday, Paleostinian resistance factions have claimed three rounds of projectile fire aimed at both Israeli military and civilian targets. The Al-Quds Brigades released a statement shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, saying fighters had launched a Grad-style missile toward the Israeli town of Ashdod and three mortar shells at the Israeli military base Nahal Oz east of Gazoo City.
A second statement released by the group after sunrise said a second Grad had been launched at Beersheba 5:30 a.m. "in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli aggression."
Israel's military confirmed the strikes, saying at 1:30 a.m. that a fighter jet "targeted a terrorist in the northern Gazoo Strip, in the same location from which a Grad missile was fired towards the city of Ashdod a number of hours ago. A hit was confirmed."
One Israeli civilian was lightly injured by the first Grad, Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz reported.
After 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Popular Resistance Committees released a statement saying its fighters fired seven mortar shells toward the Israeli military posts at Sufa and Kerem Shalom, both in the southern Gazoo Strip.
Israeli media reported that the seven projectiles "landed in an open field in Eshkol Regional Council," noting no injuries.
Shortly before 10 a.m. the Al-Quds Brigades released a third statement saying fighters fired a third Grad and second projectile at Beersheba.
'New phase' of resistance
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades vowed to fire rockets at cities deep inside Israel as it entered "a new phase" of resistance, a front man said.
"The Al Quds Brigade has entered a new phase of bombing targets which are further away, where thousands of Israelis live," Abu Ahmad told AFP.
"The stage of targeting Sderot and Ashkelon in southern Israel are behind us," he said, referring to a small Israeli town which lies very close to the border, and to a port city which lies 18 kilometers to the north.
"From now on, there are no more red lines for the resistance as long as the enemy doesn't respect UN conventions and keeps killing civilians," he said, vowing that the group would "respond in kind."