Palestinian militant group Hamas on Sunday said it fired rockets into southern Israel in response to what it called Israeli “massacres” of civilians in Gaza.
According to Israel’s military, approximately 10 rockets were fired by Hamas, the most of which were intercepted. According to Channel 12 in Israel, one rocket targeted the southern city of Ashkelon.
In Israel, emergency services reported that one person was injured by shrapnel, and videos showed smashed car windows and debris scattered across a street.
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “strong response”, according to a statement released by his office.
“The prime minister instructed to deliver a strong response and approved the continuation of the intensified IDF operations in Gaza against Hamas,” his office said in a statement, adding that Netanyahu spoke to Defence Minister Israel Katz from his aeroplane as he travelled to Washington.
Minutes after the declaration, the Israeli military ordered residents of numerous locations in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah to evacuate ahead of scheduled strikes, implying that the rocket firing came from there.
“To all residents of the Gaza Strip located in the Deir el-Balah area… this is a final and urgent warning before the attack,” said Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, on X.
“We will launch a severe strike on any area from which rockets are fired… For your safety, you must immediately move south to the known shelters in the Mawasi area.”
