 medics treated several individuals following the attack. A man in his 30s was slightly wounded by shrapnel and was transported to Barzilai Medical Center){kind=link}
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Jerusalem – April 7, 2025 — Tensions escalated across southern Israel on Sunday after Hamas launched a series of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, prompting urgent warnings from the militant group and drawing condemnation from Israeli officials.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), approximately 10 rockets were fired from Gaza during the afternoon hours. The Iron Dome air defense system intercepted the majority of the projectiles, but at least one rocket made landfall in Ashkelon, damaging multiple vehicles and causing injuries.
Magen David Adom (MDA) medics treated several individuals following the attack. A man in his 30s was slightly wounded by shrapnel and was transported to Barzilai Medical Center.
Emergency services also assisted several panic victims and civilians injured while running to nearby shelters. Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam arrived at the impact site to assess the damage and reassure residents.
Shortly after the attacks, Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha appeared on Al Jazeera, warning that the group possesses “capabilities that should raise concern in Israel.” His remarks came amid renewed hostilities following what he described as ongoing Israeli “crimes and massacres” against the Palestinian population.
Taha defended the rocket launches as a response to what he termed a “continuing series of Zionist crimes,” stating: “This proves that the extremist fascist government of Israel continues its policy of carrying out massacres. Therefore, it is incumbent on the resistance to defend our people.”
He also condemned recent actions by Israeli officials in Jerusalem, particularly those by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who recently ascended the Temple Mount — a highly sensitive religious site known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Taha accused Ben-Gvir of “defiling holy places,” linking the visit to broader Israeli policies in the West Bank, including settlement expansion and land confiscation.
“As long as Israel is on Palestinian land and commits massacres, confiscates land in the West Bank, equips settlements, and defiles holy places — as Ben-Gvir did in the al-Aqsa Mosque — then we cannot agree to the dismantling of the Palestinian resistance,” Taha said.
The international community, Taha added, has remained “silent in the face of Israel,” calling out what he perceived as a global failure to act against Israeli military operations and occupation policies.
The renewed violence comes amid already heightened regional tensions and fragile ceasefire understandings. The rocket fire drew immediate Israeli military responses, although as of Sunday evening, the IDF had not released details of retaliatory airstrikes.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to stabilize the situation remain uncertain, and residents of Israel’s southern communities have once again been forced into shelters under threat of rocket fire.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation, and security forces remain on high alert amid fears of further escalation in the coming days.