Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Wednesday, amid increased tensions in the south of the country following repeated attacks, the army said.
A third rocket fired out of the Palestinian enclave Wednesday night hit an open field in the Eshkol region, the army added.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but several people were treated for anxiety and one person lightly injured his leg while running to a rocket shelter, the United Hatzalah rescue service said.
The rocket launches triggered sirens that could be heard in the town of Sderot, as well as in the Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanegev, Sdot Hanegev and Hof Ashkelon regions, the army said.
A video filmed in Sderot that was shared on social media shows explosions in the air as an Iron Dome interceptor missile hits an incoming rocket.
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This was the third night in a row that rockets were fired at southern Israel. Once a type of attack that occurred on a monthly basis, rocket launches by terrorist groups in the Strip have occurred almost nightly in the past week, with Israel shelling targets in the Strip in response.
On Tuesday, a rocket struck an open field in the southern Israeli community of Netiv Ha’asara, causing neither injury nor damage.
The Tuesday night attack came hours after Palestinian terrorists in the Strip launched a rocket at Israel that fell short of its target and landed inside Gaza, the army said.
On Monday night, another rocket was fired at southern Israel, but it was intercepted by the Iron Dome. Then too, the army retaliated by targeting a Hamas outpost.
Though Hamas is not directly behind the rocket launches, Israel holds the terrorist group, which rules the Gaza Strip, as ultimately responsible for any attacks that emanate from the coastal enclave.
Last Friday night, a number of rockets were launched at the Israeli town of Sderot. One hit a kindergarten, breaking a window, and another landed in a street, damaging several cars and at least one home. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Earlier on Tuesday, two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group were killed when the motorcycle they were riding in exploded in the northern Gaza Strip. The blast was initially described as an Israeli airstrike — something the IDF rigorously denied — but which the Islamic Jihad later said was an accident.
On Sunday, Israel demolished a Hamas attack tunnel that penetrated hundreds of meters into Israeli territory from the southern Gaza Strip.
It was the second tunnel destroyed by Israel in less than six weeks. On October 30, Israel blew up a tunnel belonging to the Islamic Jihad, killing fourteen terrorists in the process, including two of the group’s senior commanders, and two members of Hamas.
The Islamic Jihad retaliated one month later, firing a dozen mortar shells at an Israeli military position northeast of the Strip, causing damage, but no injuries.
The increase in rocket attacks has also been tied to US President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that angered Palestinians.
Hamas called for a new intifada against Israel over Trump’s announcement, and urged Palestinians to confront soldiers and settlers, allowing thousands of Gazans to clash with Israeli troops at the Gaza border fence in recent days.
In an address last Wednesday from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.
The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but criticized internationally, especially in the Arab world. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.