A rocket was launched today (Thursday) from northern Gaza City and landed inside the Gaza Strip near Israeli military positions, marking the second reported violation of the ceasefire in the past 24 hours, the Israeli military said. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, the IDF said it identified a failed launch from the Gaza City area toward Israeli territory. The rocket fell inside Gaza, near a hospital, and the military carried out a targeted strike on the launch site shortly afterward. “The IDF views with great severity any attempt by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to carry out attacks against IDF forces or Israeli civilians,” the statement said.
The launch followed an incident a day earlier in which Hamas gunmen fired on Israeli troops in northern Gaza in an area where the group has been searching for the body of slain hostage first Class Sgt. Ran Gvili. The IDF said no soldiers were wounded in that attack. In response, the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency said they struck a “senior terrorist” involved in planning attacks against Israeli forces in northern Gaza. The military has not identified the target or disclosed the outcome of the strike.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces stationed along the buffer zone inside Gaza have conducted drills simulating surprise Hamas raids involving dozens of attackers. The Southern Command has tightened readiness guidelines, and the military is considering reinforcing forces in the area.
Israeli officials say they assess that repeated approaches by Palestinians toward Israeli positions in recent days, occurring almost daily, are intended to test soldiers’ alertness and response times. In some areas, including central Gaza opposite the Maghazi refugee camp, the distance between residential areas and Israeli positions is only a few kilometers.
The latest incidents come as Israel’s security establishment awaits political approval to reopen the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, under an agreement reached with Hamas in October and brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.