AIR RAID sirens blared out over Tel Aviv today as Hamas claimed responsibility for its first long-range rocket attack for five months.

No casualties were reported as Israel said it had shot down “a number” of projectiles, but the launch was viewed as a signal from Hamas that it retains the capacity to fight seven months into Israel’s brutal invasion of Gaza, whose official rationale is to permanently destroy the militant group.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 81 more Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing in the prior 24 hours, as Israel continued to pound the territory in defiance of an International Court of Justice order to halt its attack on Rafah, issued on Friday.