Rockets fired into Israel hours after ceasefire reached to halt Gaza fighting

Palestinian officials reported 34 deaths, including a 7-year-old boy and six members of a single family

Rocket fire crippled life across southern Israel, as nonstop air-raid sirens cancelled schools and forced people to remain indoors

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Around 350 rockets have been fired at targets across southern Israel since Tuesday, according to the Israeli army, with dozens being intercepted by the country’s Iron Dome aerial defence system. Photo: DPA

Published: 2:15pm, 14 Nov 2019Updated: 10:16pm, 14 Nov 2019

Gaza militants fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Thursday, hours after a ceasefire was declared to end two days of intense fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad group, the heaviest escalation in months that killed at least 34 Palestinians, including three women and eight children, and paralysed parts of Israel.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the new wave of rockets and it wasn’t clear how this would affect the fate of the ceasefire.

Israel had hailed the Gaza operation as a victory, defending its policy of targeting militants in their homes despite civilian deaths and vowed to continue the tactic. Islamic Jihad said it had succeeded in getting Israel to agree to a ceasefire based on several demands, including a halt to Israeli targeted killings of the group’s leaders.

A house that was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. Photo: Xinhua

The fighting first erupted early on Tuesday after Israel killed a senior commander of the Iranian-backed militant group who was said to be behind a string of rocket attacks and who Israel said was believed to be planning a cross-border infiltration.

The rare targeted killing by Israel sparked the heaviest fighting with Gaza militants since May. Islamic Jihad fired some 450 rockets toward Israel, while Israel responded with scores of air strikes.