As Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, several rockets fired from the enclave have targeted Tel Aviv and southern Israel as the country rang in the New Year, according to AFP journalists on the ground.

Air-raid sirens sounded as journalists in Tel Aviv saw Israeli missile defence systems intercept the rockets. People who had gathered on the streets to celebrate New Year’s Eve took shelter, while others continued to party.

The attack on southern Israel came at midnight (10pm GMT) and another targeting Tel Aviv occurred a minute later, according to AFP journalists.

Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for both attacks in a video posted on social media. They said they used M90 rockets in “response to the massacres of civilians” perpetrated by Israel. The Israeli military confirmed the attack.

The latest rocket attacks came as Israel continues its bombing campaign of Gaza — which has killed at least 21,822 people, mostly women and children — after an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct 7 left around 1,140 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.