On Sunday, Hamas announced the launch of a “big missile” attack targeting Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital, as reported by Reuters. The Israeli military responded by sounding sirens in Tel Aviv, warning of potential incoming rockets. The military did not specify the cause of the sirens.
This escalation marks a shift, as militants have primarily targeted communities around Gaza with projectiles in the past months, refraining from using longer-range rockets. There have been no immediate reports of casualties or damage from this latest attack.
In a related development, aid trucks began entering Gaza from southern Israel on Sunday. This comes under a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which Israeli forces seized earlier this month, according to the Associated Press (AP). However, ongoing fighting in the area raises doubts about whether humanitarian groups can access the aid.
Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is handed back to Palestinians. Following a call between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt agreed to temporarily divert traffic through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza’s main cargo terminal. Despite Israel’s claim of allowing hundreds of trucks to enter, United Nations agencies report that it is often too dangerous to retrieve the aid due to the ongoing conflict in the nearby city of Rafah.
The current conflict traces back to October 7, when Hamas initiated an attack on Israel. Palestinian militants killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages. According to AP, Hamas continues to hold around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 others, following the release of most hostages during a cease-fire last year.