Hamas Official: Iran Ordered Rocket Attack toward Central Israel

An unnamed senior Hamas official told the Israeli daily Israel Hayom on Tuesday that Iran ordered the launch of a rocket from the Gaza Strip that crashed into a house in central Israel early Monday, wounding seven people. The official said the order was given to an Islamic Jihad cell in the coastal enclave, although Hamas’s leadership was aware of it. In response to the rocket attack, the Israeli military conducted dozens of air strikes in the Gaza Strip from Monday night to early Tuesday morning, destroying the office of Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh. Dozens of projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, with many intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system or falling in open areas, causing no injuries or damage. Egypt is said to have brokered a ceasefire that led to the quiet, although there were further cross-border exchanges later on Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returned to Israel on Tuesday to oversee a security cabinet meeting after cutting short a trip to Washington due to the escalation.