Dozens of rockets have been fired at Israel from the blockaded Gaza Strip, and sirens warning of incoming fire have reportedly been heard over the greater Tel Aviv area.
According to the Agence France-Presse news agency, rocket fire from several locations in Gaza began at 06:30 a.m. local time (03:30 GMT) on Saturday and continued for about half an hour.
Air raid sirens could be heard as far north as Tel Aviv, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) away, and Israelis were instructed to stay in their homes and apartment buildings near bomb shelters.
A 70-year-old woman was seriously injured when a rocket hit a building in southern Israel, Israel’s Magna David Adom Rescue Agency said. Elsewhere, a 20-year-old man was slightly injured by a rocket, he said.
Gaza residents said they heard gunfire near the southern town of Khan Yunis along the separation fence with Israel and saw significant movement of armed Palestinian fighters. No additional details were released by the Israeli military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would meet with top security officials in the coming hours.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by Hamas, the armed movement that controls the Gaza Strip, or by the smaller Islamic Jihad movement, which has also fought several wars with Israel.
Israel’s military has not yet commented, but its forces typically launch airstrikes in response to rocket fire, raising the possibility of wider fighting.
Saturday’s rocket fire comes after heightened tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza and clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year.
About 30 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks on Israel this year.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow soon.