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Tel Aviv [Israel], March 21 (ANI/TPS): Rocket sirens blared across central Israel on Thursday afternoon as three rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, marking the first such attack in months. The launch came as Israeli forces recaptured areas of northern Gaza near Beit Lahiya and hours after Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen fired a missile that sent millions of Israelis scrambling to bomb shelters.
The Israel Defense Forces said one of the rockets launched from Gaza was intercepted while the others landed in open areas. Shrapnel fell in Rishon LeZion but no injuries or property damage was reported. The alarm was heard in several major cities, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Holon, Or Yehuda, and Rishon LeZion. The rocket fire also came just hours after sirens were triggered early Thursday morning warning of a missile attack from Yemen. The missile was intercepted outside Israeli territory. Magen David Adom teams treated 13 people injured while seeking shelter, as well as three suffering from panic attacks. Flights were briefly suspended at Ben-Gurion Airport outside of Tel Aviv during both attacks. Also on Thursday, IDF forces raided northern Gaza's coastal area near Beit Lahia, marking their first ground operation there in two months -- areas vacated two months ago as part of the temporary ceasefire. The IDF warned residents of Gaza to avoid the Netzarim Corridor as ground operations expanded. The Netzarim corridor is a roughly seven-km-road running from east to west, that bisects the Strip. It crosses from Israel, at a point between Kibbutz Be'eri and Kibbutz Nahal Oz, and stretches to the Mediterranean. Israel's withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor was a key Hamas ceasefire demand. Airstrikes launched by Israel on Tuesday ended a two-month ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group. Hamas insisted on the original ceasefire terms, which called for Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining hostages. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue operations until Hamas is dismantled. Talks over phase two of the agreement, set to begin February 3, never took place. Despite this, the ceasefire held for weeks as mediators sought new terms. In early March, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff proposed extending phase one of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of five hostages. However, he dismissed Hamas's response to the proposal as unacceptable, warning of consequences if the group did not reconsider. At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead. (ANI/TPS)
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