Brian McDonald
Hamas said on Sunday it fired a series of rockets Gaza toward central Israel as rocket sirens sounded for the first time in cities like Tel Aviv.
Hamas’ military wing said the attack and rocket fire could be heard in central Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement on its Telegram channel on Sunday, the al-Qassam Brigades said the rockets were launched in response to what it called “Zionist massacres against civilians,” Reuters reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said its air defenses intercepted several projectiles after eight rockets were fired from Rafah in the Gaza Strip toward Israel.
Militants have fired projectiles at communities around Gaza during the war, but have not fired long-range rockets in months.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage caused by what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January, the Associated Press reported.
This latest escalation came hours after aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel under a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Israeli forces seized the southern city of Rafah earlier this month. It was unclear whether humanitarian groups would be able to access aid due to ongoing fighting in the area.
Egypt refuses to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is returned to the Palestinians. It agreed to temporarily divert traffic through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza’s main cargo terminal, following a call between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its eighth month, has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. About 80% of the 2.3 million population have fled their homes, severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are starving.
Hamas triggered the war with its attack on Israel on October 7, in which its militants killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Hamas still holds about 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 people, after most of the rest were released during a ceasefire last year.
On Saturday, CBS News reported that U.S. diplomatic efforts to broker a deal to release hostages held in Gaza by Hamas is expected to continue next week. Negotiators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States will take part in the negotiations.
“There is progress,” a senior Biden administration official told CBS News. “Contacts are ongoing and we are working closely with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. These contacts will continue over the next week as we seek to move the negotiation process forward.”
bol co
jogo de terror online
novela sbt ao vivo
wishlist
musica terra seca
taça png
