A long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding six people in the first such incident since a 2014 war in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli authorities said.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, came at a time of high tension ahead of the anniversary of Gaza border protests at the weekend, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Washington as he campaigns for a fifth term in an April 9 ballot.

Israel’s commercial capital and outlying communities had last come under such an attack during the 2014 war with Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating six occupants of a home in Mishmeret, including an infant, for wounds. TV images showed a building with extensive damage, and police said it had also been set aflame.

The strike came minutes after the Israeli military activated air raid sirens in the area and said one rocket had been launched out of the Gaza Strip, a coastal territory 50 miles (80 km) away where Hamas and other factions possess such weapons.

Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said the home in Mishmeret was hit by a rocket from Gaza.

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation.

Two rockets were launched at Tel Aviv on March 14 but caused no casualties or damage, Israel said. It blamed the rocket launches on Hamas, though a security official who declined to be identified by name or nationality later said that the salvo, which missed any built-up areas, had been set off by accident.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu on Monday’s incident.

His chief rival in next month’s election, centrist ex-general Benny Gantz, issued a statement accusing the rightist premier of having “bankrupted national security”.</s>Israeli leader to leave US early because of Gaza attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-ten-YAH'-hoo) says he's cutting short his visit to Washington after a Gaza rocket attack on Israel.

Netanyahu described Monday morning's rocket launch that struck a home in central Israel as a "criminal attack" and vowed to strike back hard. He says he will return to Israel to handle the crisis shortly after meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday.

An Israeli rescue service says the rocket from the Gaza Strip wounded seven people.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Sunday for what was to have been a three-day visit. He was going to speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and was to be hosted at a White House dinner.</s>MISHMERET, Israel (Reuters) - A long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding six people in the first such incident since a 2014 war in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli authorities said.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town north of Tel Aviv, came at a time of high tension ahead of the anniversary of Gaza border protests at the weekend, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Washington as he campaigns for a fifth term in an April 9 ballot.

Israel’s commercial capital and outlying communities had last come under such an attack during the 2014 war with Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating six occupants of a home in Mishmeret, including an infant, for wounds. TV images showed a building with extensive damage, and police said it had also been set aflame.

The strike came minutes after the Israeli military activated air raid sirens in the area and said one rocket had been launched out of the Gaza Strip, a coastal territory 50 miles (80 km) away where Hamas and other factions possess such weapons.

Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said the home in Mishmeret was hit by a rocket from Gaza.

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation.

Two rockets were launched at Tel Aviv on March 14 but caused no casualties or damage, Israel said. It blamed the rocket launches on Hamas, though a security official who declined to be identified by name or nationality later said that the salvo, which missed any built-up areas, had been set off by accident.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu on Monday’s incident.

His chief rival in next month’s election, centrist ex-general Benny Gantz, issued a statement accusing the rightist premier of having “bankrupted national security”.</s>Israeli leader to leave US early because of Gaza attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-ten-YAH'-hoo) says he's cutting short his visit to Washington after a Gaza rocket attack on Israel.

Netanyahu described Monday morning's rocket launch that struck a home in central Israel as a "criminal attack" and vowed to strike back hard. He says he will return to Israel to handle the crisis shortly after meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday.

An Israeli rescue service says the rocket from the Gaza Strip wounded seven people.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Sunday for what was to have been a three-day visit. He was going to speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and was to be hosted at a White House dinner.</s>Media caption Israeli jets carried out several air strikes in Gaza after a rocket hit a home north of Tel Aviv

According to BBC Israel has carried out strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, hours after a rocket hit a house north of Tel Aviv.

The Israel Defense Forces said the office of Hamas’s political leader and the group’s military intelligence headquarters were among the targets.

Gaza’s health ministry said seven people were injured in the strikes.

The IDF earlier blamed Hamas, which controls Gaza, for the launch of the rocket that hit the Israeli community of Mishmeret, injuring seven people.

“Israel will not tolerate this, I will not tolerate this,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters during a ceremony in Washington at which US President Donald Trump formally recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

“Israel is responding forcefully to this wanton aggression,” Mr Netanyahu added.

Mr Trump denounced the attack as “despicable” and said the US “recognises Israel’s absolute right to defend itself”.

So far no Palestinian militant group has said it fired the rocket. One unnamed Hamas official said it had “no interest” in doing so.</s>The Latest: Netanyahu back in Israel, consults with military

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local):

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned home from Washington, heading straight into military consultations after a night of heavy fire as Israeli aircraft bombed Gaza targets and the strip's militants fired rockets into Israel.

Schools in southern Israel were cancelled following the violence that erupted just two weeks ahead of Israeli elections. The region is quiet but tense on Tuesday, a day after a surprise rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a house in central Israel, wounding seven.

Netanyahu faces the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him on election day.

Officials at a Palestinian university in the West Bank say undercover Israeli forces have raided the campus and arrested three students.

Lubna Abdelhadi, a spokeswoman for the Bir Zeit University, says the armed commandos, disguised as locals, entered the campus early on Tuesday and grabbed the students, believed to be Hamas activists, while they were sleeping.

The students were apparently hiding on campus to try and avoid arrest. The raid happened as Israel and Gaza's Hamas militants traded fire overnight after a rocket attack from Gaza struck a home in central Israel early on Monday.

Israeli forces had previously raided the university in 2017 and ransacked the student council, confiscating materials used by political groups.

The Israeli military said it arrested nine Palestinian suspects in routine overnight West Bank raids, but would not specify further.

A tense quiet has taken hold after a night of heavy fire as Israeli aircraft bombed targets across the Gaza Strip and Gaza militants fired rockets into Israel.

School in southern Israel was cancelled on Tuesday following the violence that erupted just two weeks ahead of Israeli elections.

The cross-border fighting was triggered by a surprise rocket fired early Monday from Gaza that slammed into a house in central Israel and wounded seven people. Gaza's Hamas rulers announced later in the day that Egyptian mediators had brokered a cease-fire but the firing continued.

The attack prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a visit to Washington and return home. He promised a tough response, setting the stage for perhaps the most serious conflict since a 50-day war in 2014.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gaza rocket: Two children and an infant were among the injured

Seven people have been injured after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house belonging to a British-Israeli family in central Israel.

The rocket came down at 05:25 (03:25 GMT) in the community of Mishmeret, 20km (12 miles) north of Tel Aviv.

This is the furthest a Palestinian rocket has reached in Israel since the 2014 conflict with militants in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to the US over the attack and vowed to respond with force.

So far no-one has said they carried out the attack. The Israeli military accused the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, but a Hamas official said it had "no interest" in doing so.

A week and a half ago, two rockets were launched towards Tel Aviv and nobody was hurt. The Israeli military responded with dozens of air strikes across Gaza, which injured four people.

Hamas and Israeli officials later said those rockets had been fired "by mistake".

What happened on Monday?

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the rocket that hit the house in Mishmeret was launched from Rafah in southern Gaza, about 120km (75 miles) away.

The explosion from the rocket severely damaged the house and set it on fire.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said it had treated two women who were moderately wounded and five other people, including an infant, a three-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, who had minor wounds.

The house belonged to Robert and Susan Wolf, two British-Israeli dual nationals who are originally from London.

Mr Wolf told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he had been at home with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren when the rocket hit.

"If we hadn't got to the bomb shelter in time I would be burying all my family," he said.

The blast also caused damage to at least one nearby home and several vehicles.

Although the rocket triggered sirens in the Sharon and Emek Hefer regions, Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system was not activated.

When asked for an explanation, an IDF spokesman told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper: "Iron Dome protects the areas in which it is stationed, according to operational situation assessments."

Intended to combat missiles launched from ranges of between 40km and 70km, each Iron Dome battery can protect an area of roughly 155 sq km.

But the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says there is a limited number of batteries available and they need to be deployed correctly to meet the most likely threats.

The failure to intercept this missile, he adds, is a reminder of the altogether greater challenge should Israel be engaged in a conflict on its northern borders, where the volume of Iranian and Hezbollah missiles might swamp its defensive systems.

Who was behind the attack?

IDF spokeswoman Major Mika Lifshitz blamed Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

"It's a Hamas rocket, itself made by Hamas," she said. "It has an ability to reach more than 120km."

"We see Hamas as responsible for all that happens in the Gaza Strip," she added.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Cars parked near the house were damaged by fragments from the rocket

Maj Lifshitz said the IDF was deploying two additional brigades to the area surrounding Gaza, and that there was a "very limited" calling up of reservists.

The Israeli authorities have also closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings with Gaza, and closed roads and suspended agricultural work near the boundary fence with Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement: "There was a criminal attack on the State of Israel, and we will respond forcefully."

The British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, said there could "be no justification of any kind for this attack".

Jason Greenblatt, the US special representative for international negotiations, wrote on Twitter: "We condemn this violence from Gaza and affirm Israel's right to defend itself."

Hamas has not commented on the attack publicly, but an unnamed official told AFP news agency that "no-one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy".

The Times of Israel reported that the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza had launched an investigation to determine who was behind the rocket launch.

Islamic Jihad, another militant group, warned Israel against retaliatory strikes. "[Its] leaders must know that we will respond forcefully to their aggression," he said.

Could the situation escalate?

The timing of this rocket launch comes at a very sensitive time.

The Israeli prime minister is fighting a close election campaign in which he is brandishing his security credentials. He had just arrived in Washington, where he was due to meet President Trump twice and give a speech.

He will now go once to the White House and then says he will return home "to manage our actions from close at hand".

Already fears of an escalation were high with this week's anniversary of the start of protests at Gaza's boundary fence with Israel.

Egyptian security officials - who've been trying to broker a longer-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas - were due in Gaza this morning. Now, their efforts to bring quiet are in jeopardy.</s>Israeli forces on Monday struck targets across the Gaza Strip in response to a surprise rocket attack from the Palestinian territory, as the military bolstered its troops and rocket-defense systems in anticipation of a new round of heavy fighting with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Israel opened public bomb shelters in most major cities and civil defense authorities canceled sports events and public transportation in southern Israel. As Israeli aircraft pounded Gaza, Hamas’ leadership went into hiding.

“Israel will not tolerate this. I will not tolerate this,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump.

“Israel is responding forcefully to this wanton aggression,” he said. “We will do whatever we must do to defend our people and defend our state.”

Several airstrikes were heard throughout Gaza, including a powerful blast that destroyed a multistory building in Gaza City. Israel said the building had served as a Hamas military intelligence headquarters.

The explosion was so powerful it sent debris flying onto the roof of The Associated Press bureau, located on the 11th floor of a nearby high-rise.

The sudden conflagration came at a time when both Netanyahu and his Hamas foes are in desperate situations.

Netanyahu is in a tight race for re-election, and just two weeks before the April 9 vote, faces tough criticism from challengers who accuse him of being too soft on Hamas.

In Washington to celebrate the U.S. recognition of Israel’s control of the Golan Heights, Netanyahu instead was forced to cut short his trip under heavy pressure to strike back at Hamas.

Hamas’ leader, Ismail Haniyeh, issued a statement warning Israel against heavy retaliation. He said the Palestinian people “will not surrender” and its militant factions “will deter the enemy if it exceeds the red lines.”

In Beirut, the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, met Monday with a Hamas delegation led by top official Saleh Arouri. Hezbollah said they discussed the Gaza situation and “Israeli aggression.”

Hamas is facing perhaps its domestic test since seizing control of Gaza from the rival Palestinian Authority 12 years ago.

An Israel-Egyptian blockade, imposed to weaken Hamas, combined with sanctions by the Palestinian Authority and mismanagement by the Hamas government, have all fueled an economic crisis that has left Gaza with an unemployment rate above 50 percent.

Hamas has been leading weekly protests along the Israeli border for the past year in hopes of easing the blockade, but the demonstrations, in which some 190 people have been killed by Israeli fire, have done little to improve conditions.

Last week, hundreds of Gazans took to the streets to protest the dire conditions, a rare expression of public discontent against the authoritarian government. Hamas responded with a violent crackdown, beating and arresting dozens of protesters and drawing rare public criticism.

The rocket attack, which caught Israel off guard, may have been an attempt by Hamas to divert attention from its growing domestic woes.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars, most recently in 2014. Although neither side appears to have an interest in a full-fledged war, fighting could easily spin out of control. The 2014 conflict lasted 50 days and ended with over 2,000 Palestinian deaths, including hundreds of civilians, and 73 killed on the Israeli side.

Netanyahu faces the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him on election day.

Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, said a mild response was not an option.

“It will be something on a bigger scale,” he said.

“He doesn’t want a war before elections, but they put him in a corner,” he added. “After three missiles reaching the heart of Israel, the chance of a big escalation including a ground offensive, is very high.”

Monday’s attack came 10 days after rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel’s densely populated commercial capital of Tel Aviv, and the Israeli military struck back. Gaza’s Hamas leaders said the rocket was fired accidentally and the fighting quickly subsided.

The sounds of air raid sirens jolted residents of the Sharon area, northeast of Tel Aviv, shortly after 5 a.m. Monday, sending them scurrying to bomb shelters. A strong sound of an explosion followed.

The rocket destroyed a residential home in the farming community of Mishmeret, wounding six members of a family. The Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including two women who were moderately wounded. The others, including two children and an infant, had minor injuries.

The Israeli military said Hamas militants fired the rocket from southern Gaza. It said its Iron Dome rocket-defense system was not activated because the attack in central Israel had not been anticipated. The army added it was reinforcing its missile defense batteries in preparation for an escalation.

Maj. Mika Lifshitz, a military spokeswoman, said it was a self-manufactured rocket with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles), making it one of the deepest rocket strikes ever carried out by Hamas.

Lifshitz added that two armor and infantry brigades were being mobilized to the Gaza front and that a limited drafting of reserves was also taking place.

The cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba opened public bomb shelters. Civil defense officials canceled sporting matches and train service in southern Israel. Schools were ordered to hold classes in bomb shelters, and large public gatherings were banned.

The family home in Mishmeret was left in ruins, with tiles, broken furniture and debris scattered about. A shattered baby’s crib lay among the rubble and two family dogs died in the explosion.

“I nearly lost my family,” said Robert Wolf, grandfather of the injured residents. “If we hadn’t gotten to the bomb shelter in time, I would now be burying all my family.”

Netanyahu came under heavy criticism from allies and opponents for what they say has been an ineffective policy containing Gaza militants. He has conducted indirect cease-fire talks through Egyptian mediators in recent months, and even allowed the delivery of millions of dollars of Qatari aid to Hamas to ease harsh conditions in Gaza.

“The reality in which Hamas turned Israel into a hostage is unprecedented and unfathomable,” his chief challenger, Benny Gantz, wrote on Twitter on Monday. Gantz is a former military chief who led the army during the last Gaza war in 2014.

Netanyahu also came under attack from his own nationalistic allies.

“Israel’s deterrence has collapsed, and it has to be said in all honesty Netanyahu has failed against Hamas,” said Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamin HeHadash faction in Netanyahu’s coalition.

Witnesses reported seeing Hamas evacuating personnel from government premises. Hamas also announced that its Gaza chief, Yehiya Sinwar, had canceled a public speech. Other leaders turned off their mobile phones, while Hamas police were seen evacuating their stations. Hamas even released some prisoners it was holding, in another sign of anxiety.

Israel also shut down its main crossings into Gaza and imposed restrictions on fishing off the Gazan coast.

Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are trying to broker a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas but that effort has yet to bring an agreement.</s>KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — An early morning rocket from the Gaza Strip struck a house in central Israel on Monday, wounding seven people, an Israeli rescue service said, an attack that could set off another round of violence shortly before the Israeli election.

The sounds of air raid sirens woke up the residents of the residential Sharon area, northeast of Tel Aviv, sending them scurrying to bomb shelters. A strong sound of an explosion followed.

The Israeli military said it identified a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Israeli police said the rocket hit a residential home in the community of Mishmeret, north of the city of Kfar Saba, setting off a fire and destroying the house.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating seven people, including two women who were moderately wounded. The others, including two children and an infant, had minor wounds.

The attack comes 10 days after rockets were fired toward Israel's densely populated commercial capital of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military at the time struck back in Gaza and the sides appeared to be hurtling toward another confrontation. But Gaza's Hamas leaders said the rocket was fired accidently and calm was quickly restored.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility to Monday's attack, but it would seem to be much harder to dismiss the latest incident as another misfire.

Gaza is controlled by Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel's destruction and possesses a large arsenal of rockets and missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel. The territory is home to other militant groups, including Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed armed organization that also has a formidable rocket arsenal.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all fire coming out of the coastal territory.

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies and have fought three wars since the militant group seized power in the strip in 2007. Smaller flare-ups have occurred sporadically since Israel and Hamas fought their last war in 2014.

The outburst comes at a sensitive time for both sides. Israel is holding national elections in 15 days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a tight fight for re-election and could face heavy criticism from his opponents if he is seen as ineffective against the militants.

Netanyahu is currently in Washington, set to meet later in the day with President Donald Trump.

His chief opponent, Benny Gantz, called on him to return home immediately to deal with the crisis.

"The reality in which Hamas turned Israel into a hostage is unprecedented and unfathomable," he wrote on Twitter. "Netanyahu has to pack up now and return to Israel to handle this serious escalation."

In Gaza, Hamas has come under rare public criticism for the harsh conditions in the territory. An Israel-Egyptian blockade, combined with sanctions by the rival Palestinian Authority and mismanagement by the Hamas government have fueled an economic crisis in the territory. Residents have little desire for another war with Israel.</s>A rocket launched from Gaza toward central Israel injured seven people and prompted Israel's prime minister to cut short a trip to Washington, D.C. Before leaving, he met with President Trump.
Seven people are moderately injured after a rocket attack destroys a home in Mishmeret, Israel. The Israel Defense Forces claim that Hamas is responsible for any attack from Gaza.