Palestinian fighters on Thursday launched a rocket from Gaza Strip to Tel Aviv. The rocket had exploded 15 km southeast of Tel Aviv, in the port of Jaffa. This is the first time a missile reached so near to the heart of Israel. In Tel Aviv, the sirens went off about a minute before the fall of the projectile, causing panic among residents, who started running everywhere.
The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, said in a statement it had bombed Tel Aviv with an Iran made rocket called Fajr 5, which has a maximum range of 75 km.
"The enemy has started the battle but the resistance will determine how it ends," said a spokesman of the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Ahmad, on the group's website.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, will on Friday visit in the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced Thursday. "The Egyptian leadership has informed us that the Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, would go to Gaza tomorrow accompanied by several ministers," said spokesman of the Hamas government, Taher al-Nounou. "We welcome this visit and appreciate this courageous stand," he said, adding that "this confirmed the support of the leadership, government and people of Egypt to the Palestinian people who is facing an Israeli war."
Egypt regularly acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas to restore calm around Gaza. "The Israelis must realize that we do not accept this aggression and it can only lead to instability in the region," said Thursday Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
