Militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel late Monday, the military and media said, after overnight air strikes killed eight militants in the Palestinian enclave. A military spokesman said some 20 rockets were fired in just a few minutes, and that four incoming were destroyed by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Media reports spoke of around 40 fired. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage in Israel.
The armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement on Monday claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of rockets at southern Israel, a statement said.
The claim came shortly after the Israeli military confirmed that "several dozen rockets" were fired across the border. "Al-Qassam fired dozens of rockets on Netivot and Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ofakim in response to the Zionist aggression," a statement said, reports AFP.
Two Palestinians killed, three injured after Israeli Air Force attack
Two Palestinians were killed and three wounded today as a result of the air strike at Gaza Strip by the Israeli Air Force. As reported by the Israeli edition of "Jerusalem Post", this was a response to the recent rocket firing by the Palestinian radicals in Israel, according to ITAR-TASS.
According to the newspaper, within one day about 10 improvised mortar shells fell to the south in the desert near the city of Ashkelon. No casualties or damage information was reported.
Israeli air strikes killed seven Hamas gunmen early Monday, the Islamist group's armed wing said, making it their highest single death toll since a 2012 cross-border war with the Jewish state.
Israeli military authorities confirmed the strikes, saying they "responded to rocket attacks against southern Israel," targeting 9 "terror" sites and concealed rocket launchers, reports Reuters.
Hamas said the strikes were launched at a gathering point for its members in Gaza's southern-most town of Rafah, at the Egyptian border.
The attacks followed a surge in rocket strikes at Israel from Gaza, where Hamas is the dominant force. The Israeli military said these attacks have topped 150 since mid-June, including about 20 rockets striking Israel on Sunday alone.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to his cabinet on Sunday "to do whatever is necessary" to restore quiet to southern Israeli communities.
Netanyahu also cautioned against any rush toward wider confrontation with the group, whose arsenal includes long-range rockets that can reach Israel's heartland and its business capital, Tel Aviv.
New Gaza rocket fires as Israel's Arabs join protests over teen murder
A new volley of rockets fired from Gaza territory into Israel on Saturday, hamstring Egyptian efforts to establish a renewed truce, after protests over a Palestinian teenager's murder spread to Arab-Israeli towns.
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