JERUSALEM--Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip reached both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Friday. Tel Aviv was struck in the late afternoon. In Jerusalem and surrounding areas, air raid sirens sounded just before 5:15 p.m. on Friday, followed by the sound of at least one large explosion. No casualties were reported in either city.
Within less than five minutes of the Jerusalem air raid siren going off, Twitter was ablaze with notes from residents, including numerous journalists, who heard the explosions. The tone of most of the tweets was incredulity that rockets from Gaza had been targeted at Jerusalem, a city 800,000 of residents which has almost 300,000 Arab residents.
At least one explosion could be heard in the center of Jerusalem, but officials have only confirmed that one rocket landed in the town of Gush Etsiyon, on the outskirts of the city. There are unconfirmed eyewitness reports from Jerusalem residents who say they heard possibly two or three explosions following the air raid siren.
There were also unconfirmed reports and at least one eyewitness account of one other rocket exploding in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Ram, near the parliament. Israel has vehemently denied that there were any explosions in Givat Ram.
The rocket attacks followed a day that consisted of a steady stream of rocket attacks from Gaza and Israel. Earlier in the day, a conditional ceasefire during the Egyptian prime minister to Gaza was not honored by either side.
The Israeli Defense Force has already mobilized 16,000 reserve troops.
Gidon Belmaker and Ali Issa in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
