The Israeli military have intercepted at least one rocket launched from the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Israeli Defence Forces said on Wednesday. Sirens sounded in the communities near Gaza and in the city of Ashkelon.
The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system.
On Hanukkah, the festival of miracles, Israel's modern miracle—the Iron Dome—just intercepted a rocket mid-air after it was fired from #Gaza at Israeli civilians. pic.twitter.com/IuuAfIIGv1
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 25, 2019
🚨Sirens sounding in southern Israel🚨
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 25, 2019
Red Alerts #Gaza #Israel https://t.co/MVqakFXyLx
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) December 25, 2019
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who was holding an election campaign event in Ashkelon at the time, reportedly had to rush into a bomb shelter after the rocket alerts.
#BREAKING: Rockets fired from Gaza towards Ashkelon during a Netanyahu election rally
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) December 25, 2019
pic.twitter.com/njzJLwl1cG
The launch comes as Jews celebrate Hanukkah from 22 to 30 December, a holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C. after it was destroyed by the Syrian Greeks.
A similar incident occurred earlier in September when two rockets were launched at the city of Ashdod where Netanyahu was attending a campaign event for his Likud party.
Tensions in the Gaza Strip have been mounting recently. On 19 December, another rocket launched from Gaza was intercepted mid-air by the IDF.
On 17 December, the IDF said they launched an airstrike at an armed man after he approached the border fence from the side of Gaza.
Tel Aviv holds the Hamas movement responsible for many attacks coming from the Gaza Strip.
