At least 25 mortar shells have been fired from the Gaza Strip at communities in southern Israel, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has said, in what is thought to be the single biggest rocket attack in the area since the 2014 Hamas-Israel war.
No one was injured in the Tuesday morning incident and most missiles were intercepted by Israel’s rocket defence systems. One shell landed near a nursery school shortly before it was due to open for the day, local media reported.
The attack, which comes at a time when tensions on the Gaza-Israel border are higher than they have been in years, is likely to incur severe retaliation from the Israeli authorities.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement later on Tuesday that Israel would respond "forcefully" to the attack. There has been no comment from Hamas, the militant organisation in control of the Gaza Strip.
There have been several protests in the last two months at the security fence that forms a decade-long blockade on the two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel says the blockade – put in place after Hamas seized control of the area in 2007 - is a necessary security measure.
Earlier this month the area saw the worst violence since the last round of fighting between Hamas and Israel in 2014. Israeli forces shot and killed 60 people protesting at the border over both living conditions and the US embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
At least 110 people have been killed in protests since March, which Hamas has vowed will continue. Israel has repeatedly said the group is using the protests as a cover to plan attacks on IDF soldiers.
At least three Islamic Jihad militants and one Hamas member have been killed in small confrontations in the border zone since Sunday.
Also on Tuesday, Hamas said a boat carrying people in need of medical attention they would not be able to receive in the Strip, as well as students who wish to study abroad, was set to try and break the naval blockade on the area.
Previous attempts from charities and activists to enter and exit the area by sea have resulted in further violence.
