In the early hours of Saturday, the Hamas launched a series of rocket attacks on Israel, accompanied by militants infiltrating Israeli territory, resulting in at least one casualty, according to both the military and medical sources. Rockets were continuously launched from various locations in Gaza, creating a visible streak across the sky. The escalation follows months of heightened violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a notable increase in fatalities in the occupied West Bank.
Air raid sirens sounded in southern and central Israel, prompting the military to advise the public to seek shelter. In Jerusalem, multiple rockets were intercepted, and sirens blared more frequently than in the past three years of Gaza conflicts. The armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the aerial assault, stating that its militants had launched over 5,000 rockets.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, declared “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” with the intention to end what they termed as the “crimes of the occupation.” The Israeli military acknowledged the massive rocket attacks by Hamas and reported simultaneous infiltration by terrorists into various Israeli locations. Consequences and responsibility for the events were attributed to Hamas by the Israeli army.
Tragically, a woman in her 60s in Israel lost her life due to a direct hit, and fifteen others sustained injuries, two of them serious, according to the Magen David Adom emergency services. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced his intention to convene security chiefs promptly to address the escalating violence.
