Air raid sirens sounded in central Israel on Thursday after three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, the first since a ceasefire took effect in January. The attack was claimed by the self-proclaimed Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas.
"The Israeli Air Force successfully intercepted one projectile, and two others landed in an open area," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Sirens sounded in areas including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and were also heard at Ben Gurion International Airport; no injuries or property damage were reported.
“The Izz ad Din al-Qassam Brigades bombarded Tel Aviv with a barrage of rockets,” the Hamas terrorist group announced on its media channels.
Shortly after, the Palestinian terrorist organization released a video showing its members preparing rocket launchers, while behind them hangs a sign in Hebrew reading “Tel Aviv will burn and Al Quds (the Arabic name for Jerusalem) will be liberated.”
The last time a rocket fired from Gaza set off alarm bells in Israel was on January 11, just over a week before the now-revoked ceasefire went into effect, when a rocket fired a rocket in Kerem Shalom, very close to the border with the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi terrorists also resumed firing ballistic missiles at Israel in support of terrorist organizations in Gaza, after the Israel Defense Forces announced at 2.00:XNUMX a.m. that it had launched a wave of airstrikes against Hamas in the coastal enclave. This followed the collapse of negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Strip, ultimately triggering the collapse of the truce.
So far, the Israel Defense Forces have recorded two ballistic missile launches from Yemen since the ceasefire ended: one on Tuesday afternoon and another early Thursday morning. The IDF noted that both were intercepted before entering Israeli airspace.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article