Hamas launched a salvo of more than 20 rockets on Israel as the clock struck midnight for the new year.

Air alert sirens sounded across the country and the Iron Dome anti-air defences intercepted missiles flying over Tel Aviv.

“I was terrified, like it was the first time I saw missiles, its terrifying,” Gabriel Zemelman said outside a Tel Aviv bar where he had gone to celebrate with friends.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video published on social media.

They said they fired M90 rockets in “response to the massacres of civilians” carried out by Israel.

There have been no official reports of deaths or damage.

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