Israeli army intercepts 5 rockets fired from southern Gaza

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army on Thursday said its air defenses intercepted a barrage of five rockets fired from an area in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, towards southern Israel.

The army did not report any casualties or material damage from the rocket attack.

Rocket warning sirens were heard in settlements adjacent to the Rafah area including Holit, Avshalom, Sdeh Avraham, and Kerem Shalom, according to the Times of Israel website.

No Palestinian group has so far claimed responsibility for the rockets firing.

The attack comes despite an Israeli ground operation in the Rafah area that has been taking place since May 6.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.