Alarm sirens have rung out along the Israeli border with Gaza, including the town of Sderot, forcing locals to run for bomb shelters, the Israeli media reported. Some people also reported loud explosions in the area.

“This was a complete surprise after a few months of quiet,” Yaron Sasson, a spokesman for the Sderot municipality, told Israel Radio. “But again we have residents running for bomb shelters during the Friday night Shabbat meal,” he said.

The IDF said that at least seven projectiles were launched by militants from the Palestinian territory into Israel but added that all of them were intercepted. There were also no immediate reports of casualties.

A video from the scene shows dozens of flashes in the night sky as the Iron Dome missile defense system apparently fended off the attack which has already been described as one of the largest in recent months.

The attack comes a day after another rocket was launched into Israel from Gaza. The IDF responded by launching a retaliatory strike against two Hamas posts in the northern part of the strip, using tanks and aircraft. There have been no reports of casualties resulting from that incident either.

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