Hamas launched a heavy rocket attack on Israel at midnight on New Year's Eve. 27 projectiles targeted the south and center of the country and loud explosions from the intercepts boomed through the sky over Tel Aviv. Air defense systems intercepted 18 rockets and nine fell in open areas, but not casualties are reported. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack from Gaza in a video published on social media, saying it had fired M90 rockets in “response to the massacres of civilians” ostensibly carried out by Israel.