Rocket sirens blare on tense Gaza border in false alarm – army

Rocket sirens sounded in southern Israel on Tuesday morning in what the military said was a false alarm, as Egypt and the United Nations worked to broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group.

The sirens were triggered at approximately 8:20 a.m. in the community of Yahini in the Sha’ar Hanegev region, the army said.

The false alarm came amid heightened tensions in the region, following last week’s exchanges of fire between Israel and Hamas, and recent reports that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is planning a large-scale terror attack on the Gaza border in order to derail the ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

Unnamed Israeli defense officials on Monday told Palestinian affairs correspondents from the Ynet news site and Channel 12 that members of the Iran-backed group had been seen conducting “suspicious activities” near the security fence over the past day.

The Islamic Jihad is the second-most-powerful terror group in the Gaza Strip, after the coastal enclave’s de facto ruler, Hamas, though it is believed to have a slightly larger arsenal of rockets and mortar shells, mostly locally manufactured varieties based on Iranian designs.

The group is also suspected of being responsible for two rocket attacks on southern Israel on Sunday that did not cause injury nor damage.

In recent weeks Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect ceasefire negotiations, with Egypt and the United Nations acting as mediators.

Under the Egyptian-led plan, Israel is to offer economic incentives for Gaza in exchange for calm. These are said to include easing restrictions on imports and exports, expanding fishing zones and more.

There appeared to be a breakthrough in the talks over the weekend, when Hamas maintained relative calm along the border during large Land Day protests on Saturday.

Israel, in turn, reopened its two crossings with the Gaza Strip on Sunday, having closed them last week after a rocket attack struck a home in central Israel and injured seven people, and on Monday significantly expanded the permitted fishing area around the coastal enclave.