Tel Aviv [Israel], April 7: Hamas said it had launched a barrage of rockets at cities in southern Israel on April 6 in response to Israel's "massacre" of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's Channel 12 television reported a direct attack on the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, citing officials at the Bazilai hospital in Ashkelon as saying at least 12 people were lightly injured by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Hamas.
Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries and teams were on their way to the sites of the rockets. Videos released by Israeli emergency services showed car doors smashed and debris strewn across a street in Ashkelon, Reuters reported on April 7.
The Israeli military said about 10 rockets were launched from Gaza, but most were intercepted. The Israeli military later claimed it hit the launcher that had fired the rockets from the Gaza Strip .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was flying to Washington DC to meet with US President Donald Trump, was briefed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on the rocket attack. Netanyahu ordered a "forceful" response and approved the continued escalation of Israeli military operations against Hamas.
Meanwhile, Gaza's civil defense agency accused Israeli airstrikes of killing at least 44 people on April 6, according to AFP.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed almost every day since Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire, according to AFP. On March 19, Israel announced that its forces had resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian officials say more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza. Israel began its offensive against Hamas in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Reuters, citing Israeli figures.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
