Rocket sirens sound in Gaza periphery, hours after direct hit on Israeli town

Rocket warning sirens were heard in the Gaza periphery early Monday morning, 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.

Three sirens were activated in the Hof Ashkelon regional council north of the Strip, sending frightened residents running to shelters.

The army said it was looking into whether the sirens were caused by rocket fire or, as has also been the case on a number of occasions in recent days, false alarms. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

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.

A photograph shared on social media showed damage caused to the house. An outside wall was charred and several concrete tiles surrounding the home were destroyed.

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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.

The rocket fire came two days after an attack in which a missile was fired at Israel, but fell short and struck a house belonging to an Egyptian family in the northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, which acts as Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians. “Once again, the terror groups launch rockets at the residents of Gaza,” COGAT said.

A Hadashot news report said the rocket damaged the home of the brother of a senior Hamas official, Mushir al-Masri.

On Wednesday, a rocket fired at Israel from Gaza also fell inside the Palestinian territory and hit a public school, damaging a classroom, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads COGAT, said at the time.

Friday’s failed rocket launch came amid a large rise in the number of rocket attacks on Israel from the Strip over the past two weeks, including a volley that caused damage to an empty kindergarten in Sderot over a week ago.

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.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.