Hamas fired multiple unsuccessful rockets into Israel on Thursday in retaliation for the Israeli military’s resumption of ground operations inside Gaza this week.
The Israeli air force intercepted one of three Hamas-fired rockets, and the other two landed in open areas, according to the Israeli military.
A spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said it had “bombed the city of Tel Aviv deep inside the occupied territories with a barrage of M90 rockets” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks.
Hamas’s retaliatory launches come after the Israeli military restarted airstrikes in Gaza and ground operations days earlier. More than 500 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, though its tally does not differentiate between civilians and combatants and it is unverified.
“The Air Force attack against Hamas terrorists was just the first step,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. “The rest will be significantly worse, and you will pay the full price. … Return the hostages and expel Hamas. … The alternative is utter destruction and devastation.”
An Israeli military spokesperson also said it intercepted a missile fired by the Yemen-based Houthis, which has fired missiles at Israel multiple times since the war began.
While Hamas has been severely degraded over the course of the war, which was prompted by its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people and the kidnapping of roughly 250 others, it demonstrated the capabilities it maintains when it fired rockets into Israel on Thursday.
“During the last 24 hours, [Israeli] forces began a focused ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip with the aim of expanding the security zone and creating a partial barrier between the northern and southern parts of the Strip,” an Israeli military spokesperson said Wednesday, adding that troops “took control and extended their control back to the center of the Netzarim Corridor.”
Israel’s resumption of military operations in Gaza ended the roughly two-month period of relative calmness between Israel and Hamas. The two sides sought to finalize a long-term agreement for the postwar governance and reconstruction of Gaza, but mediators were not able to get both sides to agree to a deal.
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Israeli leaders argued they restarted military operations to put additional pressure on Hamas to give up the remaining roughly 60 hostages the group holds, though it has caused widespread protests in Israel from critics of the government, who say renewed operations only jeopardize their relative safety while held in Gaza.
It is unclear whether the initial ceasefire can be salvaged at this point.
