JERUSALEM, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that about 20 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel Monday morning, in a rare salvo from the war-ravaged enclave.
The rockets set off sirens in Kibbutz Kissufim and Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, communities near the Gaza Strip.
The IDF issued a statement, saying "around 20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Younis" in Gaza. Several of them were intercepted, but some struck areas in southern Israel, and no injuries were reported.
The IDF artillery is currently attacking the sources of the fire, it added.
In a statement, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group with its headquarters in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Israel started its military offensive on Gaza in response to Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, during which militants infiltrated southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others as hostages.
The continuous Israeli ground and air assaults have claimed the lives of at least 37,900 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the enclave's health authorities. ■
