The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, Al-Quds Brigades, has announced that it launched rocket attacks on Israeli cities in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis.
The attack aimed to demonstrate the resistance’s ability to respond decisively to Israeli attacks. Israeli media reported that sirens sounded in several cities and towns in southern Israel, including Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Sderot. The Israeli military, in a statement, said that two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip were intercepted, while a third landed in an open area, without causing casualties or significant material damage.
Following the rocket attack, the Israel Defence Forces ordered residents of the Jabalia city and refugee camp, and other surrounding neighbourhoods in the central Gaza Strip, to immediately evacuate ahead of an Israeli strike. The residents were instructed to relocate immediately to the shelter centres in Gaza City.
The rocket attack came hours after intensive Israeli airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital, which resulted in widespread destruction and heavy human losses. Gaza-based health authorities said at least six Palestinians were killed and 40 others injured in the Israeli airstrikes. According to the Israel Defence Forces, the strike was aimed at an underground Hamas command and control centre. The military accused Hamas of continuing to use hospitals in Gaza to conceal militant infrastructure.
