A heavy barrage was launched this evening (Tuesday) towards southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv.
The Sderot municipality reported that rockets struck a vehicle, two buildings, and two houses in the city. Two people in Sderot were lightly injured in the rocket barrage. A driver in central Israel was seriously injured when he stopped his vehicle upon hearing the Red Alert alarm and fell into a ditch.
Hamas claimed that the latest barrage was launched in response to the assassination of Ayman Nofal, a member of the organization's General Military Council and the head of the military wing's Central Gaza Brigade, in an airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp.
Nofal was one of Hamas' highest-ranking military leaders and was involved in the plotting of numerous terrorist attacks against Israelis, including the abduction of Gilad Schalit in 2006.
Nofal's assassination is the most significant death of a Hamas leader since the beginning of the war. Nofal was connected to all of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and was responsible for coordination between the various organizations.
His elimination will make it difficult for the organization to carry out and coordinate military moves between the five Hamas divisions, but it is likely that a replacement will soon be appointed.