NEW DELHI: For the first time in months, rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv after
Hamas
' armed wing launched a 'big missile' attack on the Israeli city on Sunday.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the missile strike, in a statement released on its Telegram channel. The group said the attack was carried out as retaliation for what it described as "Zionist massacres against civilians".
The statement did not provide further details about the extent of the missile attack or any resulting damage or casualties.
The escalation in violence between Hamas and Israel has been ongoing leading to a growing number of civilian casualties on both sides.
Hamas Al-Aqsa TV reported that rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, triggering rocket sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in several months. The Israeli military did not immediately provide an explanation for the sirens.
According to Israeli emergency medical services, no casualties were reported in connection with the incident.
The rocket attack demonstrated that the Islamist group maintained the capability to launch long-range projectiles, despite enduring more than seven months of relentless Israeli military assaults from both aerial and ground forces.
Earlier on Sunday, aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel through a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt, following the seizure of the Palestinian side by Israeli forces earlier this month. However, it remains uncertain whether humanitarian groups will be able to access the aid due to the ongoing fighting in the area.
Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is returned to the Palestinians. As a temporary measure, Egypt agreed to divert traffic through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza's primary cargo terminal, following a call between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
However, the Kerem Shalom crossing has been largely inaccessible due to the fighting associated with Israel's offensive in the nearby city of Rafah. While Israel claims to have allowed hundreds of trucks to enter, United Nations agencies report that retrieving the aid on the other side is often too dangerous.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, now in its eighth month, has claimed the lives of nearly 36,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. Approximately 80% of the territory's 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes, and severe hunger is widespread. UN officials have reported that certain areas of the territory are experiencing famine conditions.
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