In response to rocket attacks earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned Gaza’s Hamas rulers against allowing an escalation against Israel just as Hamas was negotiating a unity deal with the Palestinian Authority. Though rocket attacks against Israel’s southern residents saw a reduction after Operation Pillar of Defense in late 2012, the attacks have been coming with greater frequency this year.

Ya’alon specifically named Hamas in his remarks, the ruling power in Gaza.

“Even today, our enemies rise up to destroy us,” he said at a mimouna celebration in Modi’in, paraphrasing the Passover haggadah, “and we see that the IDF responded immediately, to send a message to the other side: this will not be overlooked.”

“We hope that, on the other end, Hamas and other [terror] organizations get the hint, accept the message and keep Gaza calm,” he continued. “If not, they should know that we will act on it.”

Mimouna is a traditional Sephardic post-Passover celebration.

Some defense officials said that other Gaza based terror groups were directly responsible for the attacks, though two members of Hamas were reported injured in retaliatory raids.

The escalation of violence from Gaza has occurred against a backdrop of the growing rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas, which culminated in an agreement between the two rival organizations yesterday.

[Photo: Sebastian Zwez / WikiCommons ]