While Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were signing agreements to normalize relations with Israel in Washington Sept. 15, Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip fired long-range rockets over southern Israeli cities, wounding 13 Israelis, one of whom suffered serious injuries, and causing material damage. No faction claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.
A few hours after the incident, in the early hours of Sept. 16, the Israeli army launched 10 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting a weapons and explosives factory and a complex used by Hamas for training and rocket testing.