JERUSALEM — Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system intercepted five rockets fired at the city of Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and the military responded with a series of airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled territory.
No group has taken responsibility for firing the rockets, which were shot down by Iron Dome's small radar-guided missiles over Ashkelon, a coastal city of some 125,000 people about 12 kilometers (seven miles) north of Gaza.
Israel says it holds the Islamist group Hamas, which has ruled the Palestinian enclave since 2007, responsible for all cross-border rocket fire.
Palestinian security officials said two Hamas camps were hit by Israel's airstrikes and that five people were wounded.