Multiple rockets intercepted over central Jerusalem: AFP

Multiple rockets were intercepted over central Jerusalem on Friday, AFP journalists reported.

Staff saw two explosions and heard three blasts, as sirens warning of incoming fire blared in the city for the first time since October 30, according to the Israeli military.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fired rockets towards Jerusalem “as a response to the Zionist massacres of civilians”.

Paramedics rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised in Jerusalem and nearby Beit Shemesh, the Magen David Adom emergency medical services said.

“No reports of injured as of now,” it added.

The Israeli military told AFP there were “six launches toward Jerusalem” and three of them were intercepted.

The other three were not above populated areas, it said.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza continued on Friday despite mounting international calls for restraint.

The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

The Israeli army launched a massive retaliatory campaign that has left much of the besieged territory in ruins.

It has killed more than 18,700 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has said.

Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets towards Israel throughout the war, the vast majority of which have been intercepted by air defences, according to the Israeli military.