Hamas launches ‘big missile attack’ towards Tel Aviv for first time in months

Rocket sirens blared across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, on Sunday for the first time in months as Hamas claimed to have launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza, news agency Reuters reported.

Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, announced a “big missile attack” on Tel Aviv. According to the report, Israeli military responded by sounding sirens in the central city to warn of incoming rockets.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, al-Qassam Brigades said the rockets were launched in response to what it called “Zionist massacres against civilians”.

Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV confirmed that the rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip.

This incident marked the first time in four months that rocket sirens were heard in Tel Aviv. The Israeli military did not immediately clarify the cause for the sirens.

Israeli emergency medical services said they had received no reports of casualties.

At least eight rockets were launched by Hamas from the Rafah area in southern Gaza and several were intercepted by Israeli military, a BBC report said.

The report also stated that alert sirens were sounded in various cities and towns, including Herzliya and Petah Tikva.

The missile attack on Israel came soon after a new batch of aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel through a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing which has been blocked for weeks.

The aid shipments are a result of an agreement between US and Egypt to temporarily send aid through the crossing. Israel faces mounting pressure to increase aid to Gaza after over seven months of conflict, causing extensive damage and food shortages in the territory.

Earlier in the day, Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of at least five Palestinians in Rafah, as reported by local medical services. Israeli tanks have conducted operations near the city’s outskirts, particularly close to the primary southern crossing into Egypt, without a significant incursion into the city itself.

Israel claims its objective is to eliminate Hamas fighters entrenched in Rafah and free hostages allegedly held in the area. However, the military action has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis for civilians and sparked international condemnation.

Gaza’s health ministry claims nearly 36,000 Palestinian casualties from Israel’s offensive. The operation was initiated after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, resulting in approximately 1,200 casualties and over 250 hostages, according to Israeli records.