(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his regret that innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip were unintentionally hit as a result of IDF shelling. He emphasized that the shelling was carried out in response to Hamas fire at Israeli civilians. 

"It is regrettable that Hamas continues to intentionally rain down dozens of rockets on Israeli civilians even as it uses civilians as human shields. While the State of Israel has no intention of bringing about a deterioration of the situation, the IDF will continue to take determined action to defend Israeli citizens," the Prime Minister said.