Israeli television stations reported Tuesday that two rockets targeted Tel Aviv but were intercepted. Air raid sirens blared in the city — Israel's commercial capital, about 45 miles north of the Gaza Strip — and television reports showed people getting off buses and rushing for cover.
At least one explosion was heard shortly afterward. Israeli TV stations said the rockets were intercepted by Israel's "Iron Dome" defense system.
The apparent rocket attack would be the deepest strike by Palestinian militants since Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier Tuesday. Israeli media reported that three suspected Hamas militants landed on Zikim beach, between the northern Gaza border and the city of Ashkelon, and were engaged in a firefight. Reports said the suspected militants were killed in an exchange with Israeli defense forces.
In a statement later Tuesday the Israel Defense Forces said, "Initial indication suggests a terrorist attempt to infiltrate into southern Israel is currently taking place. The IDF is now on a mission to confront the threat."
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