Gaza launches fresh rocket attacks on Israeli border areas

Tel Aviv, April 23 (IANS/DPA) Southern Israeli border areas came under renewed rocket fire from Gaza on Tuesday, 200 days since the October 7 attacks which sparked the current conflict.

Four rockets were intercepted by Israel's missile defence system on Tuesday, with one warehouse in the border town of Sderot being hit by fragments and setting on fire, local media said. There were no reports of casualties.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said fighter jets had carried out airstrikes on Hamas rocket launching pads in southern Gaza.

The IDF reported further air force operations against "approximately 25 targets" throughout the Palestinian territory, and said "a number of terrorists" were killed using sniper fire.

According to Israeli figures, more than 16,000 rockets have been fired at Israel by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and other groups since October 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, 34,183 people have been killed and more than 77,000 injured since the beginning of the war. The figures, which do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, cannot be independently verified.

More than 1,200 people were killed, while around 250 people were taken as hostages during the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist groups.

Israel responded with airstrikes and a major ground offensive. Amid mounting casualties and a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the country has come under international pressure to protect civilians.