Israel intercepts Gaza rocket, retaliates with tank fire

Associated Press

JERUSALEM

The Israeli military said it intercepted a rocket launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip late Monday, a few hours after Israel bombed Hamas military positions in retaliation for rocket fire earlier in the evening.

The military said in a statement that the Iron Dome missile-defense system shot down a rocket fired at Israel from the Palestinian territory. No injuries or damage were reported in Israel.

Shortly afterward, an Israeli tank responded by bombarding a Hamas military position in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said. No injuries were reported.

Earlier, Israeli planes and tanks shelled the coastal territory after militants fired a rocket toward southern Israel, in what was the latest in a series of cross-border exchanges that have left at least four Palestinians dead since Friday.

Monday’s strikes came a day after Israel said it destroyed a tunnel built by Hamas that ran several hundred yards into Israeli territory. Hamas threatened Israel with a “heavy price” for demolishing the tunnel.