UPDATE - Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades hit Israeli targets in Beersheba area with rockets

UPDATES WITH NEW BARRAGE OF ROCKETS FIRED BY AL-QASSAM, ISRAELI MEDIA REPORT

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, on Friday said its fighters fired a barrage of rockets on Israeli targets in the area of Beersheba, southern Israel.

In a brief statement, Al-Qassam Brigades said the rocket attack on Beersheba came "in response to the (Israeli) massacres against (Palestinian) civilians."

In a separate statement, the group said it fired another barrage of rockets on Beersheba.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said 14 rockets were fired from Gaza on Beersheba.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said one Israeli woman was wounded by one of the rockets’ shrapnel, but didn't specify the level of her injury.

Earlier, the Israeli army confirmed the launch of five rockets from Gaza toward the Beersheba area.

It claimed that one rocket was intercepted, while the others fell in open areas.

The Israeli army on Tuesday stormed and occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, closing Gazan Palestinians' only gateway to the world.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,514 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar