Israel takes down rockets from Gaza after IDF destroys Hamas missile plant

Israeli Defense Forces early Thursday morning took down at least four rockets fired from Gaza likely in response to Israel's bombing of a Hamas missile plant.

At least one rocket damaged a home and a car in the southern Israeli city of Sderot hours earlier and four people were treated for anxiety, The Times of Israel reported.

The rocket reportedly contained hundreds of ball bearings.

Tensions are increasing in Israel, especially in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque where the government has arrested hundreds of reportedly violent worshipers over the past week.

The Israeli Air Force normally "launches two Tamir interceptors per projectile," Journalist Emanuel Fabian observed.

"This time they went a bit overboard it seems, maybe to make up for the earlier failure," he said.

Air raid sirens went off again in Sderot and the surrounding area after the four rockets were intercepted, but it was a false alarm. 

Heavy machine gun fire in Gaza triggered the second round of sirens, the IDF said.

Palestinian media agency Shehab posted a video of the Hamas factory on fire with the translated caption, "the moment the occupation aircraft bombed one of the resistance sites in the central Gaza Strip."

"In response to the 1st rocket attack on Israel tonight, we struck an underground complex in Gaza used to produce rocket engines," the IDF wrote on Twitter.

"This will significantly impede rocket manufacturing capabilities in Gaza," the agency added. "We hold Hamas responsible for all terrorist activities emanating from Gaza."