Fragments of interceptor missile fall in southern Israel: Media

By Sadi Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - Fragments of a missile fell in southern Israel on Friday after it was launched to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Army Radio said fragments of the interceptor missile fell in the city of Sderot, causing material damage but no injuries.

The radio had earlier reported that sirens sounded in Sderot and the surrounding area.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack last Oct. 7 by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

More than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 76,800 others have been injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul