Gaza militants fire rockets at northern Israel

2021-05-13 01:35:35 GMT2021-05-13 09:35:35(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

JERUSALEM, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Gaza militants fired rockets at northern Israel early on Thursday, the Israeli army said, which significantly expanded the rocket fire range of the four-day-long fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The overnight attack triggered air raid sirens in the northern Jezreel Valley, marking the first time rockets were fired at this area during the current escalation.

Heavy rocket barrages were fired also at central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Modi'in, a major city west of Jerusalem, and the south, forcing people to seek shelters and safe spaces.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian group that runs Gaza, claimed responsibility for the fire, according to reports in Israeli media.

Since Monday, hundreds of rockets have been fired at southern and central Israel while Israel has carried out deadly airstrikes throughout the besieged Palestinian enclave.

At least 65 persons in Gaza and seven in Israel have been killed by airstrikes and rocket attacks, according to official reports from both sides.

The current wave of violence between Israel and Gaza militant groups has been the first of its kind since the last large-scale air and ground offensive that Israel waged on the Palestinian enclave for 50 days in 2014. Enditem

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