One woman was killed after Palestinian militants carried out an unprecedented infiltration into Israel, launching dozens of rockets early on Saturday, news agency AFP reported. The incident prompted Israel to declare a ‘state of war’ following numerous infiltrations and rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. It also urged its people to remain indoors.
The Israeli military said “a number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory”. It said it was striking targets in the Gaza Strip as air raid sirens were sounded across Israel, including Jerusalem, news agency AP reported.
Amateur videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be uniformed gunmen inside the Israeli border town of Sderot. The sound of gunfire could be heard in the videos, whose authenticity could not immediately be verified.
Sounds of outgoing rockets whooshing through the air could be heard in Gaza and sirens could be heard as far away as Tel Aviv, some 70 kilometres to the north, during the early morning barrage that lasted more than 30 minutes.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency said a 70-year-old woman was critically injured when a rocket hit a building in southern Israel. Elsewhere, a 20-year-old man was moderately injured by rocket shrapnel, it said.
