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Incoming rocket sirens sound in Gaza border community, in false alarm

Military looking into cause of alert in Nahal Oz; some residents report hearing explosions

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent.

View of the barrier along the Israel-Gaza border, on December 8, 2021. (Flash90)
View of the barrier along the Israel-Gaza border, on December 8, 2021. (Flash90)

Incoming rocket sirens sounded Sunday afternoon in the southern town of Nahal Oz, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

Residents of the area said explosions were heard following the sirens, but the Israel Defense Forces said it was a false alarm.

It was not clear what triggered the alert. Previously, gunfire from the Strip, as well as rockets that fell short of the border, have set off sirens in towns close to the fence.

Last Sunday, an alert was activated in an open field near the town of Mefalsim on the Gaza border. That siren was also a false alarm, according to the IDF.

The sirens come amid heightened tensions following violent clashes on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem earlier Sunday and on Friday.

Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups have repeatedly invoked the flashpoint holy site as a red line. Police actions to quell riots there last year were among the triggers of an 11-day war in Gaza in May.

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