- Title: Gaza's Hamas militants fire 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv
- Date: 11th May 2021
- Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (MAY 11, 2021) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) ROCKETS BEING FIRED INTO SKY (AUDIO OF EXPLOSIONS) TOWARDS TEL AVIV VARIOUS OF ROCKETS BEING FIRED INTO SKY GAZA SKYLINE (AUDIO OF EXPLOSIONS)
- Embargoed: 25th May 2021 19:48
- Keywords: Gaza Gaza City Hamas Israel Tel Aviv rockets
- Location: GAZA CITY, GAZA
- City: GAZA CITY, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001ECIRWP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Gaza's Islamist ruler Hamas said it had fired over 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv on Tuesday (May 11) night in response to an Israeli air strike that had flattened a tower block in the Strip.
"We are carrying (out) now our promise (by) launching a massive rocket strike against Tel Aviv and its suburbs, with 130 rockets, in response to the enemy's targeting of residential towers," Hamas's armed wing said in a statement.
Shortly before, a 13-storey residential block in the Gaza Strip collapsed after being hit by an Israeli air strike, witnesses said. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group said they would respond by firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
Air raid sirens and explosions were heard around the city, and the skies were lit up by the streaks of multiple interceptor missiles launched towards the incoming rockets.
Pedestrians ran for shelter, and diners streamed out of Tel Aviv restaurants while others flattened themselves on pavements as the sirens sounded. Israeli television stations said three people had been wounded in the suburb of Holon.
The Israel Airports Authority said it had halted take-offs at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport "to allow defence of (the) nation's skies".
Hours earlier, Israel had sent 80 jets to bomb Gaza and massed tanks on the border as rocket barrages hit Israeli towns for a second day, deepening a conflict in which at least 28 people in the Palestinian enclave and two in Israel have been killed.
(Production: Hannah Ellison, Marissa Davison) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
