- author, Elizabeth Pelham
- stock, BBC News
-
Hamas says it launched a “massive” rocket attack on Tel Aviv in central Israel.
At least eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area in southern Gaza, and the Israeli military said it intercepted several. No injuries were reported.
It was the first time Hamas had attacked central Israel in nearly four months Military operation in Rafah defies UN High Court ruling
It comes as ceasefire talks aimed at ending the conflict are expected to resume on Tuesday.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic hub, has returned to some degree of normalcy since the last attack in January.
Sirens sounded in other Israeli towns and cities, including Herzliya and Beta Tikva.
Israeli media released footage of missile fragments in the garden of a building in Herzliya.
Other footage shows damage to a bedroom in a home.
A different video showed a large crater created by a rocket in an open area near the central city of Kaffar Sabah.
The Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the attack on its Telegram channel.
It did not confirm that the attack was carried out from Rafah, where fighting reportedly took place near a Kuwaiti hospital.
Palestinian media reported that at least one person was killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Rafah.
According to reports, many of the injured have been taken to Kuwait Hospital.
Israel launched its offensive in southern Gaza City three weeks ago, vowing to destroy any remaining Hamas battalions there.
More than 800,000 Palestinians have fled the southern city, according to the UN. About 1.5 million people have fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began on October 7 after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages.
At least 35,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
With the latest attack, Hamas could try to show its strength ahead of new talks to end the conflict that begin on Tuesday – or it could try to derail them.
