Rockets Send Tel Aviv Residents to Shelters For First Time in Four Months

Jerusalem, 26 May, 2024 (TPS) -- Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at central Israel on Sunday, sending residents of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area scrambling for shelter. It was the first attack on Israel’s most populated region in four months. Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired its own barrages on northern Israel.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, eight of the 12 missiles fired were launched from Rafah in southern Gaza. The IDF said most were intercepted by air defense systems.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the barrage, which triggered sirens in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Petah Tikva, Hod Hasharon, Ramat Hasharon, Ra’anana, and other communities. Authorities found rocket parts in Ra’anana, Herzliya and near Kfar Saba.

Emergency responders said two women in Herzliya — one 52, the other 30 — were hurt while making their way to bomb shelters. Both were taken to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba with mild injuries, according to Magen David Adom responders. One house in Herzliya was damaged by falling shrapnel.

The Israel Airports Authority said that Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport were operating normally.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired two barrages of rockets at northern Israel, triggering sirens in Rosh HaNikra, Betzet, Hanita, and Shlomi. According to Lebanese media reports, the rocket fire was in response to an Israeli drone strike on a man driving a motorcycle in the Lebanese town of Naquora. The man was not identified and the IDF did not confirm the airstrike.

Overnight, the IDF carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah facilities in the southern Lebanon areas of Al- Khiam and Ayta ash Shab Aita.

Leaders of the Iran-backed terror group have said they will continue the attacks to prevent thousands of residents of northern Israel from returning to their homes. Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from Southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 125 remaining hostages, 39 are believed dead.