RAMALLAH: A rocket that Hamas claimed its armed wing, Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, fired landed north of Jerusalem. Sirens were heard in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and El-Bireh, among other nearby places. Al-Qassam Brigades announced a rocket attack on Jerusalem mid afternoon on Friday, and it was confirmed by Israeli and Palestinian media sources. The exact landing spot of the rocket is not yet know, and Israeli police are searching the greater Jerusalem area for its remains now, Ma'an News Agency says. Hamas claimed it fired “an improved Qassam rocket," according to Jerusalem Post. Ma'an, however, reports that the missiles were “homemade". The attack on Jerusalem came on the third day of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense offensive in the Gaza Strip. Earlier Thursday Tel Aviv was slammed with a rocket as well as the night before. The latest string of attacks marks the first time a rocket has been fired at Jerusalem since the 1970s, reports Ha'aretz, and the first time Gaza-based militants have been able to reach to Tel Aviv with rockets. Hamas announced that any truce with Israel must be on their conditions and benefit all Palestinians. On Monday, Israeli officials openly discussed the possibility of launching a ground invasion into the narrow coastal strip. Hamas officials also warned that if Israel launches a ground incursion into Gaza they will see “surprises" they “never dreamed of." The Palestinian death toll reached 25 late Friday afternoon. Injuries are reportedly in the hundreds and increasingly steadily. Three Israelis were killed in a rocket attack that hit a civilian home in southern Israel Thursday morning. Several have been injured.
