GAZA, Palestine

The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas group announced Sunday that it launched rocket attacks on an Israeli military compound in Mefalsim and on the city of Ashkelon in response to the targeting of civilians in Gaza.

The Al-Qassam Brigades said in a press release that they targeted the Israeli Mefalsim compound with rocket fire.

In a separate statement, they noted that they “struck the occupied city of Ashkelon with rocket fire in response to the targeting of civilians."

Earlier on Sunday, they issued a statement saying the "Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon is launching 20 rockets at the Shlomi and Nahariya settlements and their surroundings in northern occupied Palestine" in response to the war on Gaza.

Last weekend, in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern Strip to evacuate to the southern region.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala