BackRockets fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv in first since Gaza war
Israel says rockets were fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv 'by Hamas and that its defence forces had retaliatedHamas, however, denied reports that it had launched the rocket attack from inside Palestine territory
PremiumNew York/Gaza: Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at the Tel Aviv area, in a dramatic escalation of violence less than a month before Israel’s 9 April election.
There were no reports of injuries. One of the rockets was intercepted, Israel Defense Forces said on its Twitter feed. Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai had told local broadcaster Channel 11 that one of the rockets apparently landed outside the city and another fell into the sea.
Israel Defense Forces said on Twitter the rockets were fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv “by the Hamas terrorist organization", and that Israel had retaliated. “We have just started striking terror sites in Gaza," it said on Twitter.
The Islamic Jihad militant group denied reports that it had launched the attack from the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave.
The rockets were fired following a lull in violence along the Gaza-Israel border. Egyptian intelligence officials were in Gaza at the time trying to broker a more durable truce but left after the rocket attack. Channel 11 said United Nations representatives were trying to defuse the situation.
This is the first time since the 2014 Gaza war that rockets have been aimed at Tel Aviv, Israel television said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv for consultations, Channel 11 reported.
“Elections will not be a factor" in Netanyahu’s decision on how to respond, Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser and retired major-general, said in a briefing to reporters. “All the candidates in the Jewish side of the parliament clearly will stand behind the decision to react."
Bloomberg's Zaid Sabah contributed to this story.
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