Rocket sirens sounded in Ashdod, Yavne, Lod and Ben-Gurion Airport, among other locations, on Thursday afternoon due to a technical error, sending thousands of residents into shelters despite no rockets being fired.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced on Thursday afternoon that an initial investigation found that the sirens were set off by a technical malfunction that occurred during a routine check of the alert system at Home Front Command.
"During and after the check there was no impairment in the operational competence of the alert systems," said the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
The false alarm came amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip after a Border Police officer was shot and critically injured during violent riots along the Gaza border on Saturday. Incendiary and explosive balloons were launched from Gaza towards Israel in the days following the riots and Palestinian factions warned that they would conduct "popular activities" until the blockade on Gaza was lifted.
On Wednesday, about 1,000 Palestinians rioted near the border fence, with 14 Palestinians injured, including five by live fire. A member of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades succumbed to wounds he sustained in the Saturday riots on Wednesday.