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Gaza is run by Hamas and also home to other militant groups,
including Islamic Jihad. The exercise was announced on behalf of
a joint command set up by the groups in 2018.
Eight rockets streaked through a cloudless sky in Gaza towards
the Mediterranean after Abu Hamza, spokesman for Islamic Jihad,
delivered a speech launching the drill. It will include land and
coastal exercises described by the groups as a test of their
preparedness for any future confrontation with Israel.
Israeli media said the drill was organised by the militants'
sponsors in Tehran to demonstrate risks Israel could face if
Iran comes under U.S. or Israeli attack in the waning days of
the Trump administration.
On the eve of the exercise, a large portrait of Iranian military
commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last January
in a U.S. attack in Iraq, was erected along Gaza's main coastal
road.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have risen since the Nov. 27
assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh. Iran has blamed Israel for his death; Israel has
neither confirmed nor denied a role.
Tuesday's Gaza missile display did not trigger any sirens in
Israel, whose drones keep a close eye on Gaza and which employs
a sophisticated missile interception system.
Due to last 24 hours, the exercise included fighters from Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and smaller
armed groups.
(Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Peter Graff)
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