Jerusalem, April 7 (IANS) Three people were slightly injured during a rocket attack on southern Israel by Hamas, which prompted the Israeli army to launch multiple airstrikes on central Gaza later in the day, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

Earlier on Sunday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in a brief statement that it had attacked Ashdod in southern Israel with a barrage of rockets in response to what it described as Israeli "massacres" against Palestinian civilians, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed in a statement that 10 rockets were fired from Gaza, most of which were intercepted.

Following the attack, sirens were activated in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Yavne, as well as other communities in the region.

Later, Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that one of the rockets had fallen in central Ashkelon, resulting in the three injuries.

Kan TV News also reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then launched a strike targeting the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to carry out a "tough" response against Hamas.

The IDF confirmed the strike in a statement, saying it had struck the rocket launchers in Gaza from which the rockets were fired toward Israeli territory.

Meanwhile, local eyewitnesses in Gaza told Xinhua that the Israeli army launched multiple airstrikes on Sunday night, targeting various sites across Deir al-Balah, with loud explosions heard in the area.

Israeli warplanes were seen flying over Gaza in a series of successive strikes, while reconnaissance aircraft also conducted extensive overflights, the eyewitnesses said.

Gaza health authorities have not reported any injuries so far.

Israel resumed large-scale air and ground assaults on Gaza on March 18. According to Gaza health authorities, these renewed attacks have resulted in the deaths of 1,335 Palestinians and left 3,297 others injured as of Sunday.