Israel’s military said about 10 projectiles were fired, but most successfully intercepted. Israel’s Channel 12 reported a direct hit in the southern city of Ashkelon.

Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries and teams were en route to locations of fallen rockets. Smashed car windows and debris lay strewn on a city street, videos disseminated by Israeli emergency services showed.

Later on Sunday, the Israeli military posted on X a new evacuation order, instructing residents of several districts in Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip to leave their areas, citing earlier rocket firing.

“This is a final warning before the attack,” the military warning statement said.

Gaza local health authorities said Israeli military strikes killed at least 39 people across the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on Jan 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.

However, Israel said on March 19 that its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Both parties blamed one another for a stalemate in the ceasefire talks.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.

Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.