Rockets, drones fly as Gaza terrorist groups hold joint military drill

Iran had requested that the Gazan terrorist groups carry out the joint exercise in order to send a message to Israel that any attack would be met with force on all fronts, according to KAN news. 

Pictures published by Palestinian media from the beginning of the drill showed the launching of rockets as well as drones belonging to the terrorist groups in the air above the Gaza Strip.

“The occupation leadership must realize that the mere thought of an adventure against our people will be faced with full force and unity, and it will carry many surprises, God willing,” said Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamzah in a speech marking the beginning of the drill.

The spokesman added that the terrorist groups in Gaza “will not allow the Zionist enemy to impose rules of engagement that it does not consent to,” adding that “shame agreements and failed normalization ceremonies will not change anything on the ground.”

The main groups expected to participate in the drill belong to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah.

Twelve armed groups will participate in the joint drill, which “comes in the context of enhancing cooperation and joint action between the resistance groups to raise their combat readiness permanently and continuously,” according to a statement by the Gaza-based Joint Operations Room, a group consisting of various terrorist factions.

According to the groups, the drill aims to send a “message of deterrence” to Israel. “The main message is that the Palestinian resistance groups are ready to respond to any Israeli aggression,” a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip told reporters.On Monday evening, rocket sirens sounded in Kerem Shalom in southern Israel after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, but failed to cross the border.Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.