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Air raid sirens blared across central Israel on Thursday afternoon as rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip for the first time in months, just hours after the IDF announced the resumption of ground operations in northern Gaza.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it launched a barrage of mid-range M90 rockets “in response to the Zionist massacres of civilians.” The last time rockets from Gaza triggered alarms in central Israel was on October 7, 2024, the anniversary of Hamas’s deadly attack on Israeli border communities.
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Gaza rocket fired toward central Israel
In Rishon LeZion, shrapnel fell in four locations across the city, though no casualties or property damage were reported. Municipal security teams were deployed to assess the situation.
According to the IDF, one rocket was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, while two others landed in open areas. Sirens were heard across Gush Dan and surrounding cities, including Tel Aviv, Holon, Ramat Gan and Or Yehuda.
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The rocket fire came shortly after the IDF and Shin Bet announced that Israeli forces had launched new ground operations in Beit Lahia, a coastal area in the northern Gaza Strip. Two battalion combat teams, supported by the 188th Armored Brigade, entered the area and took up positions along the coastal axis.
Overnight, Israeli airstrikes targeted approximately 40 underground Hamas facilities, terror operatives and military sites, according to the IDF.
The rocket strike also followed an earlier attack in which air raid sirens sounded across central Israel early Thursday morning amid a missile strike from Yemen. The IDF said the missile, which targeted multiple cities including Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan, was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for that attack, stating they had fired a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack was a response to “massacres against our brothers in the Gaza Strip” and claimed the missile had reached its target.