Hamas says it has launched a “big” rocket attack at the Tel Aviv area in central Israel.
At least eight rockets were launched from the Rafah area in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said, adding that several were intercepted. No injuries were reported.
It is the first time in nearly four months that Hamas has attacked central Israel, and comes as Israel carries out a military operation in Rafah, defying a ruling by the UN’s top court.
It also comes as truce talks aimed at ending the conflict are expected to resume on Tuesday.
A degree of normality had returned to Tel Aviv – the economic centre of Israel – since it was last attacked in January.
Sirens also sounded in other Israeli cities and towns, including Herzliya and Petah Tikva.
Israeli media published footage of missile fragments in the garden of a building in Herzliya.
Other footage appeared to show shrapnel damage to a bedroom in a house.
A different video showed a large crater apparently created by a rocket in an open area near the central town of Kfar Saba.
The military wing of Hamas, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, announced the attack on its Telegram channel.
It did not confirm the attack was launched from Rafah – where fighting has been reported near the Kuwaiti Hospital.
Palestinian media reported that at least one person had been killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike on a residential home in central Rafah.
The reports said many of the wounded were taken to the Kuwaiti Hospital.
Israel began its offensive in the southern Gaza city about three weeks ago, vowing to destroy what it said were the remaining Hamas battalions there.
The UN says more than 800,000 Palestinians have fled the southern city. About 1.5 million had been sheltering from the fighting elsewhere in Gaza there.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began after gunmen from Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 others back to Gaza as hostages.
At least 35,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war since then, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
With the latest attack, Hamas may be trying to show its strength ahead of fresh negotiations expected to start on Tuesday to try to end the conflict – or it may be trying to derail them.
David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
