Qassam Brigades says it attacked Tel Aviv, warning sirens sounded
The Israeli military has sounded sirens in Tel Aviv in central Israel warning of possible incoming rockets.
Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement on Telegram that its fighters bombarded the Israeli city with a missile barrage in what it said “in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians”.
Fifteen explosions were heard in the Tel Aviv area, according to local media.
The Israeli media said rockets were fired from Rafah in southern Gaza, where the army is carrying out an intense military operation. Media reports also said rocket sirens sounded in many cities and towns, including Herzliya and Petah Tikva, in addition to Tel Aviv.
Some 10 rockets were launched in the barrage, according to The Times of Israel quoting army officials. Multiple rockets have been intercepted by the Israeli defence systems, reports say. Some others landed in various areas.
Israeli army says eight rockets launched from Rafah at central Israel
The Israeli army has said eight rockets were launched from the Rafah area in southern Gaza at central Israel. Israel’s air defence system intercepted several of them, the army said.
Hamas’s military wing claimed the attack earlier as sirens sounded in multiple cities and towns in central Israel. Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from the Jordanian capital, Amman, said it was the first rocket attack on the Tel Aviv region in six months.
Rocket attack on Tel Aviv raises question marks about Israeli military operation
We could see the trails of smoke from a distance here as these rockets were fired.
Some of the pictures that were attached to the Hamas announcement [about the attack] showed that some of the rockets were fired from the eastern part of the Rafah city, very close to the vicinity of the border crossing which has been under the Israeli military for the past 18 days.
The Israeli military and its occupation forces on the ground has been operating aggressively in the area and they made it clear that they are in control and they have pretty much cleared the area from the presence of any fighters on the ground or Hamas associates.
But all of a sudden we see now a barrage of rockets fired from that particular area, raising questions about Israeli claims that it had cleared the area of the Hamas fighters.
Rockets are fired towards Israel from Gaza
Rocket attack on Israel could be used by Israeli PM as ‘justification’ for military expansion in Rafah
Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar told Al Jazeera that the latest rocket attack on Israel, reported to have been launched from Rafah, will encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “play the victim”.
Eldar said it would also allow the PM to argue against the ICJ ruling to halt military operations in Rafah by saying that they are needed to ensure the safety of Israeli civilians in the face of such attacks.
Eldar said this attack could make Netanyahu believe he has the “justification” to go “deeper into Rafah until, as he has promised, the total victory.”
An Israeli police officer stands next to the remains of a rocket after rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday
Rocket attack will be seen as failure of Israeli army
It is an incredibly wide area affected in the rocket attack [Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Petah Tikva]. It goes to show that Hamas – after 228 days of war – still have the capability of attacking Israel.
When that first barrage came over, no one [no resident of Tel Aviv] believed that it was by Hamas. Everyone thought, “OK, this is Hezbollah attacking us from Lebanon” because they thought the capability of Hamas had been destroyed.
That’s going to be a problem for the Israeli army and a political problem for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but more importantly, it’s going to be seen as a failure of the Israeli army. It’s going to have an impact on the ceasefire talks which are reportedly due to begin again on Tuesday.
Netanyahu will continue bombing Rafah and the rest of Gaza. Qassam Bridages will continue to grow in strength. Anti government protests will grow further. Ceasefire talks will go nowhere. It's all up to the US to stop funding and defending the war to bring an end to the misery. Europe can and should apply sanctions, yet with US' ironclad support, Israel can continue as long as the genocidal war cabinet remains in power.
Innocent civilians will continue to suffer. Israelis remain displaced in the North. West bank keeps getting pushed more and more towards a full uprising. And our tax dollars keep being used to sustain this conflict. While a whole generation of Palestinian children needs psychosocial support, has to deal with stunted growth due to malnourishment, falls behind in education, and is without any future to look forward to.
When is enough, enough?!
