Hamas launches rocket attack on Tel-Aviv

May 11, 2021

Hamas has launched a rocket attack on Tel-Aviv, with a direct hit on a building leaving at least one person dead, Israeli media reports.

Transport authorities closed Israel’s main Ben Gurion airport as explosions broke out across the city on Tuesday evening.

Residents ran for shelter as hundreds of rockets exploded and warning sirens blared throughout Tel-Aviv.

Hamas said in a statement it had fired 130 towards the city and its suburbs as weeks of fighting with Israel escalated into some of the most violent scenes since the war of 2014.

The attack on the building took place in the suburb of Holon, with one person believed to have died, according to Israel Channel 12 TV.

Two Israeli women had already been confirmed dead in airstrikes on two houses in the city of Ashkelon, near the Gaza strip.

The deaths came after Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters and drones hit more than 130 “Hamas military targets”, including the home of a Hamas commander, according to the Israeli military.

Twenty-six Palestinians, including nine children, died as a result.

The airstrikes were a retaliation for a barrage of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza since 6pm on Monday, including six rockets which landed near Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday his forces would launch larger attacks.

In a video statement, he said: “At the conclusion of a situational assessment, it was decided that both the might of the attacks and the frequency of the attacks will be increased.”

Those comments echoed his earlier threat that the Hamas attacks had “crossed a red line” and Israel “will respond very forcefully”.

“We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, our capital, our citizens and our soldiers. Whoever strikes us will pay a heavy price,” he said.

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