Palestinian rockets launched at greater Tel Aviv; Iron Dome interceptions heard overheard

Sirens and explosions were heard throughout the major population centers of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim and Bnei Brak.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Residents take cover in the stairwell of their building during a rocket attack on Tel Aviv (photo credit: NIR ELIAS / REUTERS)
Residents take cover in the stairwell of their building during a rocket attack on Tel Aviv
(photo credit: NIR ELIAS / REUTERS)
Palestinians in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets at the metropolitan Tel Aviv area on Thursday.
Sirens and explosions were heard throughout the major population centers of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Bnei Brak, Givat Shmuel, Herzliya, Petah Tikva, Kfar Sava, and Yehud.
Channel 10 is reporting that at least five Palestinian rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome system over Rishon Letzion. No injuries or damage was reported.
Thirty minutes after the initial salvo, more sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv. Channel 10 reported that six rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Israel's economic and cultural hub.
Passersby in central Tel Aviv reported seeing remnants of the rockets.
Israelis in the center of the country enjoyed a brief, one-day lull in rocket fire, a welcome development in light of the decision by the US Federal Aviation Administration to issue a 24-hour moratorium on American commercial flights to Tel Aviv.
The decision, which came in light of damage caused by a Palestinian rocket to a home in Yehud, not far from Ben-Gurion International Airport, prompted 30 airlines in the US and Europe to cancel flights to Israel.
The FAA lifted the moratorium on Thursday, raising hopes among Israeli officials that the major airlines would announce a resumption of their regular flights to Ben-Gurion. In light of Thursday's rocket attacks on the center, however, Israeli officials are fearful that the airlines will remain hesitant to resume flights into and out of the country.
According to Channel 10, European airlines plan to reassess the situation later Thursday evening, with a decision on whether to restore their full slate of flights to Lod expected on Friday.