Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gaza rocket: Two children and an infant were among the injured

Seven people have been injured after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house belonging to a British-Israeli family in central Israel.

The rocket came down at 05:25 (03:25 GMT) in the community of Mishmeret, 20km (12 miles) north of Tel Aviv.

This is the furthest a Palestinian rocket has reached in Israel since the 2014 conflict with militants in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to the US over the attack and vowed to respond with force.

So far no-one has said they carried out the attack. The Israeli military accused the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, but a Hamas official said it had "no interest" in doing so.

A week and a half ago, two rockets were launched towards Tel Aviv and nobody was hurt. The Israeli military responded with dozens of air strikes across Gaza, which injured four people.

Hamas and Israeli officials later said those rockets had been fired "by mistake".

What happened on Monday?

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the rocket that hit the house in Mishmeret was launched from Rafah in southern Gaza, about 120km (75 miles) away.

The explosion from the rocket severely damaged the house and set it on fire.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said it had treated two women who were moderately wounded and five other people, including an infant, a three-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, who had minor wounds.

The house belonged to Robert and Susan Wolf, two British-Israeli dual nationals who are originally from London.

Mr Wolf told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he had been at home with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren when the rocket hit.

"If we hadn't got to the bomb shelter in time I would be burying all my family," he said.

The blast also caused damage to at least one nearby home and several vehicles.

Although the rocket triggered sirens in the Sharon and Emek Hefer regions, Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system was not activated.

When asked for an explanation, an IDF spokesman told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper: "Iron Dome protects the areas in which it is stationed, according to operational situation assessments."

Intended to combat missiles launched from ranges of between 40km and 70km, each Iron Dome battery can protect an area of roughly 155 sq km.

But the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says there is a limited number of batteries available and they need to be deployed correctly to meet the most likely threats.

The failure to intercept this missile, he adds, is a reminder of the altogether greater challenge should Israel be engaged in a conflict on its northern borders, where the volume of Iranian and Hezbollah missiles might swamp its defensive systems.

Who was behind the attack?

IDF spokeswoman Major Mika Lifshitz blamed Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

"It's a Hamas rocket, itself made by Hamas," she said. "It has an ability to reach more than 120km."

"We see Hamas as responsible for all that happens in the Gaza Strip," she added.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Cars parked near the house were damaged by fragments from the rocket

Maj Lifshitz said the IDF was deploying two additional brigades to the area surrounding Gaza, and that there was a "very limited" calling up of reservists.

The Israeli authorities have also closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings with Gaza, and closed roads and suspended agricultural work near the boundary fence with Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement: "There was a criminal attack on the State of Israel, and we will respond forcefully."

The British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, said there could "be no justification of any kind for this attack".

Jason Greenblatt, the US special representative for international negotiations, wrote on Twitter: "We condemn this violence from Gaza and affirm Israel's right to defend itself."

Hamas has not commented on the attack publicly, but an unnamed official told AFP news agency that "no-one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy".

The Times of Israel reported that the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza had launched an investigation to determine who was behind the rocket launch.

Islamic Jihad, another militant group, warned Israel against retaliatory strikes. "[Its] leaders must know that we will respond forcefully to their aggression," he said.

Could the situation escalate?

The timing of this rocket launch comes at a very sensitive time.

The Israeli prime minister is fighting a close election campaign in which he is brandishing his security credentials. He had just arrived in Washington, where he was due to meet President Trump twice and give a speech.

He will now go once to the White House and then says he will return home "to manage our actions from close at hand".

Already fears of an escalation were high with this week's anniversary of the start of protests at Gaza's boundary fence with Israel.

Egyptian security officials - who've been trying to broker a longer-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas - were due in Gaza this morning. Now, their efforts to bring quiet are in jeopardy. </s> MISHMERET, Israel (Reuters) - A long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding six people in the first such incident since a 2014 war in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli authorities said.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, came at a time of high tension ahead of the anniversary of Gaza border protests at the weekend, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Washington as he campaigns for a fifth term in an April 9 ballot.

Israel’s commercial capital and outlying communities had last come under such an attack during the 2014 war with Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating six occupants of a home in Mishmeret, including an infant, for wounds. TV images showed a building with extensive damage, and police said it had also been set aflame.

The strike came minutes after the Israeli military activated air raid sirens in the area and said one rocket had been launched out of the Gaza Strip, a coastal territory 50 miles (80 km) away where Hamas and other factions possess such weapons.

Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said the home in Mishmeret was hit by a rocket from Gaza.

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation.

Two rockets were launched at Tel Aviv on March 14 but caused no casualties or damage, Israel said. It blamed the rocket launches on Hamas, though a security official who declined to be identified by name or nationality later said that the salvo, which missed any built-up areas, had been set off by accident.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu on Monday’s incident.

His chief rival in next month’s election, centrist ex-general Benny Gantz, issued a statement accusing the rightist premier of having “bankrupted national security”. </s> A long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding six people in the first such incident since a 2014 war in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli authorities said.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, came at a time of high tension ahead of the anniversary of Gaza border protests at the weekend, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Washington as he campaigns for a fifth term in an April 9 ballot.

Israel’s commercial capital and outlying communities had last come under such an attack during the 2014 war with Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating six occupants of a home in Mishmeret, including an infant, for wounds. TV images showed a building with extensive damage, and police said it had also been set aflame.

The strike came minutes after the Israeli military activated air raid sirens in the area and said one rocket had been launched out of the Gaza Strip, a coastal territory 50 miles (80 km) away where Hamas and other factions possess such weapons.

Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said the home in Mishmeret was hit by a rocket from Gaza.

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation.

Two rockets were launched at Tel Aviv on March 14 but caused no casualties or damage, Israel said. It blamed the rocket launches on Hamas, though a security official who declined to be identified by name or nationality later said that the salvo, which missed any built-up areas, had been set off by accident.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu on Monday’s incident.

His chief rival in next month’s election, centrist ex-general Benny Gantz, issued a statement accusing the rightist premier of having “bankrupted national security”. </s> Jerusalem: A rocket fired from Gaza has struck a residential home in Beersheba, southern Israel, and the Israeli military began attacking militant sites in Gaza in response after days of rising tensions.

The Magen David Adom medical service said a woman and her three children, whose home in Beersheba was struck, were being treated for shock after they fled to their shelter upon being awaken by warning sirens shortly before 4am. Her swift response likely saved their lives, as the home was destroyed and debris was scattered throughout the neighbourhood.

The medical service said two other Beersheba residents were injured during the panic to seek cover.

The military said another rocket from Gaza landed in the sea, just off the coast of one of the larger cities in central Israel. No injuries were reported.

Following the attacks, schools in Beersheba were closed and Israel's military chief was cutting short his visit to the United States to come back and manage the crisis. </s> KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — An early morning rocket from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding seven people, an Israeli rescue service said, an attack that could set off another round of violence shortly before the Israeli election.

The sounds of air raid sirens woke up the residents of the residential Sharon area, northeast of Tel Aviv, sending them scurrying to bomb shelters. A strong sound of an explosion followed.

The Israeli military said it identified a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Israeli police said the rocket hit a residential home in the community of Mishmeret, north of the city of Kfar Saba, setting off a fire and destroying the house.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating seven people, including two women who were moderately wounded. The others, including two children and an infant, had minor wounds.

The attack comes 10 days after rockets were fired toward Israel's densely populated commercial capital of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military at the time struck back in Gaza and the sides appeared to be hurtling toward another confrontation. But Gaza's Hamas leaders said the rocket was fired accidently and calm was quickly restored.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility to Monday's attack, but it would seem to be much harder to dismiss the latest incident as another misfire.

Gaza is controlled by Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel's destruction and possesses a large arsenal of rockets and missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel. The territory is home to other militant groups, including Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed armed organization that also has a formidable rocket arsenal.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all fire coming out of the coastal territory.

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies and have fought three wars since the militant group seized power in the strip in 2007. Smaller flare-ups have occurred sporadically since Israel and Hamas fought their last war in 2014.

The outburst comes at a sensitive time for both sides. Israel is holding national elections in 15 days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a tight fight for re-election and could face heavy criticism from his opponents if he is seen as ineffective against the militants.

Netanyahu is currently in Washington, set to meet later in the day with President Donald Trump.

His chief opponent, Benny Gantz, called on him to return home immediately to deal with the crisis.

"The reality in which Hamas turned Israel into a hostage is unprecedented and unfathomable," he wrote on Twitter. "Netanyahu has to pack up now and return to Israel to handle this serious escalation."

In Gaza, Hamas has come under rare public criticism for the harsh conditions in the territory. An Israel-Egyptian blockade, combined with sanctions by the rival Palestinian Authority and mismanagement by the Hamas government have fueled an economic crisis in the territory. Residents have little desire for another war with Israel. </s> Jerusalem: A baby and her pregnant mother were among three Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight, officials said, as the Jewish state struck a series of targets in response to dozens of rockets fired at its territory.

Enas Khammash, 23, and her 18-month daughter Bayan were killed in an airstrike in Jafarawi in central Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled strip said, while her husband was injured. The ministry said Enas was also pregnant.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the incident, but said it had struck around 100 "military targets" belonging to Hamas in the strip. "The Israeli strike was conducted in response to the rockets launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory over the course of the evening and night," it said in a statement.

It said the targets "included manufacturing facilities, training complexes and advanced weapons and capability sites" belonging to Hamas.

Smoke plumes could be seen rising from Gaza City Wednesday evening.

A Hamas militant was killed in one strike, with at least 12 others injured, the health ministry in Gaza said.

The strikes came after dozens of rockets were launched from the coastal enclave towards Israel late Wednesday.

The country's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 11 of the roughly 70 launches, the army said, while most of the others landed in open areas.

At least two hit the Israeli town of Sderot, near Gaza's northern border, police and the army said.

One person was lightly wounded by shrapnel while several others were treated for shock in Sderot, the United Hatzalah medical service said.

A statement from the military wing of Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza, claimed responsibility for the rockets. It said the Palestinian "resistance" had fired a large number of rockets at "enemy positions in the Gaza envelope".

Sirens were sounded in several Israeli areas close to the border with Gaza, warning residents to seek immediate shelter, the Israeli army said.

"As of now, approximately 70 rocket launches were identified from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory," the army said in a statement.

Israeli television broadcast images of a house and cars reportedly damaged by the rockets in Sderot.

The United Nations (UN) condemned the Hamas rocket fire. "I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel, and particularly by today's multiple rockets fired towards communities in southern Israel," UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.

He called on all sides to step "back from the brink". The rocket fire came after two fighters from the military wing of Hamas were killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday. Hamas warned Israel — with which it has fought three wars since 2008 — it would pay for the attack.

The escalation comes after the Hamas leadership convened for a rare meeting in Gaza on Friday.

The gathering had raised hopes for a lasting truce with Israel, with the backing of Egypt and the UN.

Clashes along the Gaza border since the end of March have seen at least 165 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire.

The majority were killed during violent protests, but others have died in airstrikes or tank fire. One Israeli soldier has been shot dead by a Palestinian sniper.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008. The last war in 2014 ended with a tense ceasefire and analysts say another round of conflict remains likely. </s> JERUSALEM — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded.

Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war.

Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza.

The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system.

Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded.

Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war.

Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza.

The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system.

Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded.

Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It’s the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war.

Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza.

The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza.
Seven people are moderately injured after a rocket attack destroys a home in Mishmeret, Israel. The Israel Defense Forces claim that Hamas is responsible for any attack from Gaza.