Israel says Palestinian militants are infiltrating from Gaza

Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot in Ashkelon, southern Israel (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

The leader of Islamic militant group Hamas has announced the beginning of a new military operation against Israel, with a number of Palestinian militants infiltrating into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

In a rare public statement, Mohammed Deif said that 5,000 rockets had been fired into Israel early on Saturday to begin Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.