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Source: Israel’s Iron Dome intercepts rocket fired from Gaza, IDF says – Israel News – Haaretz.com
Rocket alarm sounded in southern Israel in first launch in a week and a half, following an Israeli attack on Hamas positions
A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip Sunday overnight was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system, the Israeli army says. Moments earlier, a rocket alarm sounded near the southern city of Ashkelon.
An Israel Defense Forces helicopter attacked earlier on Sunday two Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip in response to a suspicious cluster of balloons launched from the Strip earlier in the day, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
>> Israel is relatively optimistic about Gaza. But in the long term, it’s cosmically pessimistic | Analysis
In late December Israel Defense Force helicopter struck a Hamas target in southern Gaza after a rocket launched from the Strip fell into an open area near Israel’s southern communities.
The border has been relatively quiet the since latest escalation nearly two months ago when some 460 rockets and missiles were fired from Gaza into Israel. The IDF retaliated by attacking more than 160 targets including buildings belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, killing a total of seven in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army announced Thursday that it would disconnect all private smarphone apps that had previously been given access to data about rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip, fearing those apps could spread misleading information and false alerts.
There are multiple private applications that use the data the IDF’s Home Front Command in order to alert residents to the warning sirens that blare ahead of incoming missiles and rockets from Gaza during periods of conflict. However, the military says that due to technical glitches, the information they spread often arrives late and sometimes sends false alerts.
The IDF said that the decision to disconnect the apps came after citizens complained that the false alerts were creating confusion among users. The military recommends using the Home Front Command’s official app, which it says delivers reliable, real-time alerts to users.
