Rockets Fired from Gaza Activate Iron Dome in Israel

Rockets were fired out of Gaza, activating the Iron Dome missile defense system in the sky over southern Israel, said Israeli army

The rockets were fired around 8 p.m. local time.

The latest firing of rockets comes after eight months of war between the Palestinian Hamas group and Israel.

Also Israeli forces raided a town in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinians and detaining several others in what the army described as an operation to pre-empt militant attacks.

The West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen a surge in violence since the outbreak of the war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

During the raid in Qabatiya, troops surrounded a building where two gunmen were holed up, exchanging fire with them, the army said. The two Palestinians were killed and witnesses saw the body of one of them being lifted out by an armored bulldozer.

A third Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops elsewhere in the town, medical officials said.

There was no immediate claim of the dead men by any armed Palestinian faction. The army described the two killed in the building as "senior militants" without elaborating, and added that weapons were seized in the raid.

Several Palestinians were detained by troops, who also "exposed explosives planted into roads which were intended to be used to attack the forces", the army statement said.

Israeli Authorities released former Palestinian parliament speaker and senior Hamas official Dr. Aziz Dweik after eight months in jail.

Residents and family members welcomed Dweik in Hebron, West Bank. Dweik appeared to have lost a significant amount of his weight while in detention.

He described the treatment of Palestinian prisoners as 'really bad' and 'inhumane', adding it has worsened after the October 7 Hamas attack.