Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv

On Sunday, Hamas fired rockets from Rafah at Israeli civilians in the city of Tel Aviv. Israeli officials reported many of the rockets were shot down. Two civilians in Herzliya were wounded and a civilian home was damaged due to shrapnel from the rockets. Israeli Defense Forces later in the day destroyed a rocket launcher used in the attacks.

This is not the first time Hamas and allied forces, such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, and others, have fired rockets at civilians into Israel. In a recent eleven day span, more than 4,300 rockets were fired into Israel. In total, since the founding of Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by a variety of nations, sources indicate it has launched more than 20,000 rockets at civilians both in Gaza and Israel.

This came amidst the recent escalation after the October 7, 2023 attack. The attack killed 1,139 Israelis, including 373 members of the security forces, 695 civilians (including 36 children), and 71 foreigners. In addition, nearly 250 Israelis were taken hostage. During the attack, more than 3,000 Hamas gunmen crossed the border, as well as nearly 6,000 rockets were fired. Sources indicate numerous acts of sexual assault resulted during this conflict. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas and mobilized 350,000 reservists.