“Terrorist infiltrations”
Hamas fires hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel
Rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza City
© MAHMUD HAMS
The rocket alarm woke people in Israel from their sleep on Saturday morning. Palestinian militants fired numerous rockets into the country. The Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, declared the start of a “military operation” against Israel.
Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning Israel fired. As a journalist from the AFP news agency reported from the area controlled by the radical Islamic group Hamas, the rockets were launched from various locations in the Gaza Strip. One woman was killed in the airstrikes, according to Israeli emergency services. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
The army sounded alarm sirens in southern and central Israel. According to AFP journalists, sirens also sounded twice in Jerusalem.
Hamas’ armed wing said it had launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel. The group fired more than 5,000 rockets at Israel, said Mohammed Deif, the head of the Essedine al-Qassam Brigades, in an audio message played on television.
Israel’s military speaks of “terrorist infiltrations”
The Israeli military said “a number of terrorists” had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip. She called on residents in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip to stay in their homes. The army said it was a “combined attack” by Hamas consisting of rocket fire and “terrorist infiltrations”.
According to the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom, a woman aged around 60 was killed in a rocket strike. 15 other people in southern Israel were injured, two of them seriously.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the head of government would soon consult with his security chiefs.
Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip since 2007
Since the radical Islamic group Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip, inhabited by 2.3 million Palestinians, in 2007, Israel has imposed a blockade on the region.
Tensions increased in September when Israel closed a key Gaza border crossing to Palestinian workers for two weeks. Thousands of Palestinians were prevented from entering Israel despite their work permits. There were demonstrations with violent riots and deaths.