GAZA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Monday that it has struck Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with homemade rockets as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel after a regional tour.
In a brief statement sent to Xinhua, Al-Qassam Brigades said it fired a salvo of rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in response to the Israeli killing of civilians in Gaza.
Israeli media outlets reported that sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Short videos circulating on Facebook showed some Knesset members leaving the hall and heading to shelters.
Earlier in the day, Al-Qassam also announced the bombing of the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod and Israeli military sites near the Gaza Strip.
Blinken, who visited Israel on Thursday, returned to the country on Monday after he toured several regional states to discuss the ongoing round of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, now entering its tenth day, has killed more than 4,000 people on both sides and wounded even more. ■
