OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli army reported two projectiles launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Sunday morning, one of which was intercepted.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the area of Netivot and in the communities near the Gaza Strip, two projectiles were identified crossing from the central Gaza Strip into Israeli territory,” the army said in a statement.
“One projectile was intercepted, and one fell in an open area.”
It was the first time in several months that launches from Gaza threatened Netivot, a town of about 50,000 people around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Palestinian territory.
The launches came as Israel steps up its operations around Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, which the army has said it intends to capture in a bid to defeat Hamas and return the hostages taken during the group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
On Saturday, the army carried out a strike that flattened a high-rise in the city – the second in as many days – and dropped thousands of leaflets on western neighbourhoods calling on residents to evacuate, witnesses and an AFP journalist said.







