Gaza rockets target Israel for 1st time since 2014

Militants in Gaza fired two rockets towards Tel Aviv, the first such attack since the war between Israel and Hamas in 2014, the media reported on Friday.

Rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, alerting residents to rush to bomb shelters. Videos posted online by locals showed empty streets and captured the blare of "code red" sirens, used to warn of imminent attacks, the Guardian reported.

There were no reports of damage or casualties, the Israeli army said, and no group in Gaza immediately claimed the attack, but in a statement, Hamas's military wing denied responsibility for the attack.

Besides Hamas, other armed factions operate in the territory, including the Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed organisation that has launched rockets in the past.

In Gaza, explosions were heard in the north and south of the territory on Friday, according to Palestinian witnesses who said Israeli planes bombed two Hamas security positions.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Interior Ministry issued a statement saying the rocket firing from Gaza violated the factional and national consensus and pledged to take measures against the perpetrators.

Following the incident, the Egyptian delegation that has been negotiating for months a long-term truce agreement between Israel and Hamas left the strip.

--IANS

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