Hamas launches rocket attack towards Tel Aviv

Hamas says it has launched a “big” rocket attack at the Tel Aviv area in central Israel, several of which were intercepted by air defence systems, according to the Israeli military.

Hours later, Palestinian health and civilian officials said dozens of Palestinians had been killed and injured in an Israeli strike on an area in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where displaced people were sheltering.

Many of the casualties were living in tents at the Tal al-Sultan camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise. An official for the Hamas-run media office said 30 people had been killed.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed they had carried out an air strike on “a Hamas compound in Rafah,” where “significant Hamas terrorists were operating”. Acknowledging reports of civilian casualties from a fire ignited by the strike, the army said the incident was “under review”.

The Hamas attack on Tel Aviv – the first time in nearly four months that the group has attacked central Israel – came amid an ongoing Israeli military operation in Rafah, which has continued in defiance of a ruling from the UN’s top court.

The barrage of up to eight rockets highlights the threat Hamas still poses to people across Israel, although there were no reports of injuries.

It also illustrates the challenges the Israeli army faces as it moves further into southern Gaza to oust Hamas from what it calls its “last major stronghold”.

The rocket attack came ahead of further ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which are expected to resume next week.

The military wing of Hamas, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it was in response to “the massacre of civilians”.

But by briefly destabilising the relative normality the residents of Tel Aviv – the economic centre of Israel – had been enjoying in recent months, Hamas may be trying to show its strength ahead of the talks, or trying to derail them.

Air raid sirens also sounded in cities including Herzliya and Petah Tikva. The IDF said its Iron Dome anti-missile system had intercepted three of the eight projectiles.