Alarm sounds in southern Israel, explosions heard across the country

Alarms sounded in Abu Qrenat, near Dimona, in southern Israel, early Thursday morning, the IDF spokesman’s unit reported. Residents across the country, including central Israel and Jerusalem, reported hearing “loud explosions” that “shook houses.”

The blast was the result of a patriotic battery that responded to a rocket fired at Israel, the IDF later confirmed. The Patriot was reportedly launched near the town of Dimona.

At first it was not clear where the rocket was launched from. Several indications were that the rocket was launched from Iraq, while according to other reports, it came from the southern Syrian city of Daraa following an Israeli air strike. Brig. Gender. Hidai Zilberman later told reporters that the blast was due to the firing of an SA-5 anti-aircraft missile that was fired at Israel and exploded in the southern Negev. . The rocket was not aimed at any target, Zilberman said.

According to the spokesman, Israel responded to the launch of SA-5 against IAF planes by hitting several anti-aircraft batteries in Syria, including the one that fired the rocket that exploded in southern Israel. Due to recent tensions between Some believed that the missile could have Israel and Iran on the Tehran nuclear program

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