Israeli warplanes attacked several targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight on Sunday as militants close to Hamas, an Islamic group that controls the Strip, launched a rocket into israel forcing thousands into bomb shelters in the southern city of Sderot.
The israel Defence Forces said warplanes attacked several Hamas targets including a training camp and military infrastructure. Although no casualties were reported and no residential buildings were destroyed, for many in Gaza any airstrike is a traumatic experience, primarily because of the memories it brings.
“Warplanes destroyed my house on 1 August 2014. I don't know why it was targeted – maybe because it was located close to the [separation] fence”, said Asaad, a 45-year-old from the city of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
“Since then my family, comprised of us parents and our eight children are considered internally displaced persons, with no roof above our heads”.
Cost of Destruction
Asaad is not alone. During Israel's Operation Protective Edge in 2014 that aimed to put an end to the indiscriminate rocket fire emanating from the enclave towards the country's southern communities, the IDF destroyed hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's military targets.
But in the process of doing so, Israel's military also caused immense destruction to the Strip's infrastructure, estimated to be around $6 billion. Reports suggest that about 18,000…
