Israeli army intercepts 6 rockets over Tel Aviv fired from Gaza

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said on Friday evening that its Iron Dome air defense system intercepted a barrage of rockets launched from Gaza over Tel Aviv.

Five rockets were intercepted over Tel Aviv, while a sixth fell in an open area, Israeli Army Radio said after sirens were activated over the city and it's adjacent areas for the second time on Friday.

Health authorities said no injuries were reported from the barrage that reached the country's central region, a distance of dozens of miles from the besieged Palestinian enclave that has been under more than two months of relentless Israeli bombardment and ground attacks.

Meanwhile, the armed wing of resistance group Hamas announced that it had launched rockets towards Tel Aviv in three separate attacks on Friday.

The attacks were "in response to the Israeli massacres against (Palestinian) civilians," said the Gaza-based group, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with Hamas.

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed and more than 46,480 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar