Approximately 200 rockets have been fired by Gaza militants towards Israel over the course of a few hours on Saturday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted dozens of the incoming rockets, the IDF added.
Two Israelis have been wounded, including an 80-year old woman in the city of Kiryat Gat, about twenty miles from Gaza, injured by shrapnel to her head and legs, according to Israel’s emergency response service, Magen David Adom.
In response, the IDF says it has carried out airstrikes on more than 30 militant targets in Gaza, including rocket launcher sites and other military compounds used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says one person has died as a result of the Israeli strikes, and seven others have been wounded.
Israel has also announced that it is closing the two border crossings between Israel and Gaza, as well as closing the Gaza fishing zone in light of the rocket fire.
The announcement came from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The fishing zone was restricted to 6 nautical miles earlier this week following a rocket fired from Gaza that landed off the coast of Israel.
There was no specific date for when the crossings and the fishing zone would reopen.
Saturday’s rocket barrage comes less than a day after two militants from Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli strike on Hamas posts in Gaza.
Israel launched airstrikes Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded by sniper fire along the Gaza border.
Two further Palestinians died in Gaza Friday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health — both men succumbing to their wounds after being shot by Israeli troops during protests along the Gaza fence, according to health officials.
