Hamas launches rocket attack on Tel Aviv

According to the Israeli military, Hamas launched a “large” rocket attack on the Tel Aviv region in central Israel. Several rockets were intercepted by air defense systems.

Hours later, an aid organization reported dozens of casualties from an Israeli air strike on an area near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip that had been designated a humanitarian zone by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Many of the dead and injured were displaced Palestinians living in tents in the Tal al-Sultan camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise.

Hamas’ attack on Tel Aviv – the group’s first on central Israel in nearly four months – came amid an ongoing Israeli military operation in Rafah that continues despite the UN Supreme Court’s ruling.

The attack with up to eight rockets underlines the threat that Hamas still poses to the population throughout Israel. However, there are no reports of injuries.

It also illustrates the challenges facing the Israeli army as it continues to advance into the southern Gaza Strip to drive Hamas out of what it calls its “last major stronghold.”

The rocket attack came ahead of further ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which are expected to resume next week.

Hamas’ military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it was a response to “the massacre of civilians.”

But by temporarily destabilizing the relative normality that residents of Tel Aviv – Israel’s economic center – have enjoyed in recent months, Hamas may be trying to demonstrate its strength ahead of the talks – or it may be trying to prevent them.

Air raid sirens also sounded in cities such as Herzliya and Petah Tikva. The Israeli military said its Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted three of the eight missiles.

Most of them landed in open fields, but photos published by Israeli media appeared to show minor shrapnel damage to a house in Herzliya where an elderly woman lived with her caregiver. Police said two people suffered minor injuries.

And in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, a rocket hit a field, leaving a large crater.

Later Sunday, sirens also sounded in several border villages in southern Gaza, including some where residents have returned since the October 7 Hamas attack.

Hamas did not confirm that the rockets were fired from Rafah. Fighting was reported near a Kuwaiti hospital.

Despite great international concern, Israel began its offensive in southern Gaza City about three weeks ago and announced the destruction of what it said were the last Hamas battalions stationed there.

But the recent rocket attacks are a reminder of Hamas’ military capabilities after a seven-month offensive that Israel said was aimed at eliminating the group.

War Minister Benny Gantz said the missile launches showed that the military must continue its attack.

According to the UN, more than 800,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, a city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip. About 1.5 million had sought refuge there from the fighting in other parts of the Gaza Strip.

During the course of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has frequently designated some areas as “humanitarian zones” – places where it believes civilians are safe.

But aid organizations say that nowhere in Gaza is safe for the approximately two million civilians. Some Israeli air strikes have hit civilians in areas that were previously designated as “humanitarian zones.”

Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip began after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 others hostage in Gaza.

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war since then.