The rocket fire from several locations in the Palestinian territory began before 6:30 am local time and continued into the early morning. The Israeli army sounded sirens in the south and centre of the country, urging the population to stay close to shelters.
The armed wing of Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, announced that it had launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel and fired more than 5,000 rockets.
Salah Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said the operation was a response “to the crimes of the occupation.” He said fighters were defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A woman in her sixties was killed and 15 other people were injured in southern Israel, announced the Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross.
Twice in the morning, sirens sounded as far away as Jerusalem. Several explosions were heard around 9:00 am local time.
One rocket fell on the town of Yavne, south of Tel Aviv, where a man was slightly injured by shrapnel, according to Magen David Adom.
In May, Israel launched an offensive against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, triggering a five-day war between the Israeli army, Islamic Jihad and other armed groups in the territory that claimed the lives of 34 Palestinians and one Israeli woman.
The launches came after weeks of heightened tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, remained aloof from the conflict. Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since then.
Israel has also built a massive fence along the Gaza border meant to prevent infiltrations. It goes deep underground and is equipped with cameras, high-tech sensors and sensitive listening technology.
Since the beginning of the year, violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated, claiming the lives of at least 247 Palestinians, 33 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian.
