A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday evening was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, the military said.
Incoming missile sirens sounded in the cities of Kissufim and Ein HaShlosha, near the Gaza Strip border.
Eshkol Regional Council and Magen David Adom Ambulance Service said there were no reports of injuries after the missile attack. Local residents were urged to stay in sealed rooms over concerns about further possible attacks. The regional council later said the instructions for residents had not changed.
According to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Secretary Benny Gantz and military chief Aviv Kohavi were scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss a possible response to the missile attack.
A video posted on social media is said to show the moment the missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome.
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The rocket fire came amid escalating Israeli-Palestinian tensions following clashes and violence in Jerusalem’s Old City, a series of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks and increased IDF activity against terror groups in the West Bank.
השיגור לעוטף עזה: תיעוד יירוט הרקטה@Itay Blumental pic.twitter.com/tm6mIXxDZt
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None of the terrorist groups based in the Gaza Strip directly claimed the rocket fire. Palestinian sources, quoted by public broadcaster Kan and news site Ynet, said the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was behind the attack
In the past, Israel has responded with air strikes on Hamas, Gaza’s ruler, locations, regardless of which group launched the attack. More rarely, when the terrorist group claimed responsibility, it has directed its response to Islamic Jihad.
A video posted on social media is said to show the moment the missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome.
The last time rockets were fired toward Israel from the coastal enclave was on January 1, 2022. At that time, no sirens sounded as the two rockets landed in the sea off the Tel Aviv coast. Nonetheless, the IDF responded with a series of airstrikes on Hamas targets.
Sirens sounded in the town of Nahal Oz on Sunday afternoon in what the IDF said was a false alarm.
In recent days, violent clashes have erupted between Palestinian rioters and police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, injuring dozens of Palestinians and several police officers.
Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups have repeatedly labeled the holy site’s focal point as the red line. Police action to quell unrest there over the past year was one of the triggers of an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip last May.
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