The Hamas terror group fired a barrage of rockets from Rafah at central Israel early Sunday afternoon, breaking about four months of quiet in the area.

Sirens blared in Tel Aviv, Ra’anana, Herzliya, Kfar Saba, Hod HaSharon, Petach Tikvah, and other nearby areas. Residents reported hearing the sound of booms.

Shrapnel fell in a number of areas including on a parked car in Herzliya, and the police rushed to the scenes. One man in Herzliya was lightly injured by shrapnel. Also, MDA reported that two women were lightly injured while running to a bomb shelter and were evacuated to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba for treatment.

A rocket part that fell in the grass outside an apartment building in Herzliya:

Rocket shrapnel also damaged an apartment in Herzliya:

Another rocket fell in an open area on Kibbutz Yakum in the Sharon:

A crater was formed as the result of a rocket hit near Kfar Saba:

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and said that the barrage was a response to the IDF operation in Gaza. Army Radio reported that the rockets were fired from launchers located only hundreds of meters away from IDF soldiers in Gaza.

The IDF later said that eight rockets, less than originally reported, crossed into Israel and some of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)