Emergency sirens blared in Tel Aviv and nearby areas on Friday as Hamas claimed responsibility for launching rockets deep into Israel. The Palestinian group stated that the rocket attack was a response to the increasing number of civilian casualties in the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Medical personnel indicated that two women in Tel Aviv sustained shrapnel injuries from the barrage, marking a renewed episode of rocket attacks after a period of reduced rocket fire. This escalation occurred concurrently with Israeli forces conducting a ground offensive in Gaza during the fifth week of the conflict.
The armed forces reported that approximately 9,500 missiles, rockets, and drones were launched at Israel from Gaza and other fronts since October 7. Of these, around 2,000 were successfully intercepted by air defenses specifically designed to disregard projectiles heading for open areas where they would cause minimal harm.
The military disclosed that about 12% of Gaza’s predominantly locally-manufactured rockets had failed to reach their intended targets and instead fell within Palestinian territory.
“With the entry of (Israeli) forces on the ground, there has a significant drop-off in the number of launches,” it said.
