Dozens of rockets flew into Israel from Gaza on Monday.
According to reporting from the Jerusalem Post , the rockets are believed to have originated from Hamas. At least 70 rockets were reported to have flown over the border, during which sirens rang out nearby to warn residents about their approach.
As of this reporting, there is very little known about individuals who have been harmed by the rockets that were launched. A report from Spectrum News indicated that a bus had been struck by the mortar rockets and that a 19-year-old man on or near the bus had been critically injured during the attack.
Although the exact reason for the launch wasn’t made clear, some speculate that it may have been in response to Israel military action earlier in the week. The mortar rockets that were launched on Monday afternoon came about just one day following an Israeli military raid within Gaza that left seven Palestinian militants dead. One Israeli officer also died in the attack.
In response to the rockets being fired from Gaza, the Israel Air Force struck several Hamas targets later in the day.
Social media was flooded on Monday with video of the rockets flying overhead as sirens on the ground went off to warn residents about their impending impact. The Israel Defense Forces shared video of the rockets high in the air shortly after they were launched.
?INTENSE ROCKET FIRE FROM #GAZA AT #ISRAEL ? pic.twitter.com/0w7Csx3TVR
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 12, 2018
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack late on Monday evening (Israel time), being joined by the smaller Islamic Jihad group, according to the Times Daily . Including the teen injured by the rocket that struck the bus, around half a dozen individuals have so far been reported injured.
Initial reports about the bus being struck by the mortar blast indicated that the vehicle was itself empty, the BBC reported on Monday.
In declaring its attack on Israel, Hamas made clear the reasons behind their launching of the mortar rockets, making direct reference to the military raid carried out by IDF soldiers the day before.
“In response to yesterday’s crime, the joint command of Palestinian factions announce the beginning of bombardment of the enemy’s settlements with scores of rockets,” the military wing of Hamas said in an official statement, per reporting from Nasdaq .
The latest launch of missiles and the military response by Israel follows several months of increased tensions between Palestinians and Israel, including earlier this year in March through May, when protests erupted along the border. Palestinians had been protesting rights to land they said were wrongly taken away from them decades ago. During heightened tensions at those protests, hundreds of Palestinians were killed, with tens of thousands others injured, by the IDF, per reporting from Al Jazeera .