Army says sirens in Gaza periphery caused by rocket that fell in Strip

Missile warning sirens heard in southern cities early Monday morning were caused by a rocket fired towards Israel that fell inside the Gaza Strip, the army said.

Three sirens were activated in the Hof Ashkelon regional council north of the Strip, sending frightened residents running to shelters. hours after a rocket fired by a terrorist group struck next to a home in an Israeli community north of the coastal enclave causing damage but no injuries.

Earlier, the army confirmed late Sunday night that two rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip and that both struck inside Israel, in the Hof Ashkelon region.

Police said that one rocket hit inside an Israeli community, and the other struck an open field nearby, causing neither damage nor injury.

It was not immediately clear why the missiles were not intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, an army spokesperson said.

No terrorist groups immediately took responsibility for the attack.

There were no immediate reports of Israeli retaliation to the rockets. In general, the Israel Defense Forces responds to such attacks with airstrikes or tank shellings on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.

A number of the rockets have been shot down by the Iron Dome system, indicating they had been heading for populated areas.

This has been the largest incidence of rocket fire from the Strip since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. According to Israeli assessments, these rockets are not being launched by Hamas, but by other terrorist groups in the Strip. However, analysts have noted that Hamas is either unwilling or unable to clamp down on the groups.

The Israel-Gaza tensions have been fed by Washington’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Protesting US President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration that Jerusalem is the Israeli capital, terror group Hamas, which runs Gaza and seeks Israel’s destruction, called for a new intifada and vowed to liberate Jerusalem.