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Israel has declared a “state of alert for war” after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets across the border from the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.
Mohammed Deif, the Hamas military leader, said the Palestinian militant group had fired more than 5,000 rockets while the Israeli military said that a “number” of Palestinian militants had also entered Israel from the blockaded coastal enclave.
It said that Hamas, which controls Gaza, would “bear responsibility for the events”. Israeli jets bombed sites in the territory.
Israeli paramedics said that one woman had been killed by a direct rocket hit and that a further 15 people had been injured, including two seriously. There was no immediate information about casualties in Gaza.
The escalation follows weeks of tension on the border between Israel and Gaza, and is the most serious bout of violence between the two sides since a five-day confrontation between Israel and militants from the smaller Islamic Jihad group in May.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have also been rising for months in the West Bank, which Palestinians seek as the heart of a future state but which Israel has occupied since 1967. According to the latest UN data, Israeli forces have killed 179 Palestinians in the territory this year, while Palestinians have killed 26 Israelis.
The rocket fire from Gaza set off warning sirens across the south and centre of Israel, with interceptions heard as far north as Jerusalem, a city rarely targeted by missiles from Gaza.
The prime minister’s office said that Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to the defence ministry to carry out a security assessment with the heads of the Israeli security establishment.
Israel’s defence ministry said that it had approved the call up of reservists, and the army said that residents in areas around Gaza should stay at home.
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