Israel Intercepts One Of Two Rockets Launched From Gaza Amid Its Offensive In City
Israel’s air defences intercepted rocket fire from Gaza as battles raged in Gaza City, with civilian deaths mounting and UN genocide allegations fuelling global scrutiny. Image courtesy : AI generated picture via DALL-E.
The Israeli military said two rockets were fired from northern Gaza on Sunday (September 21, 2025), one of which was intercepted while the other landed in open ground near Ashdod.
No casualties were reported. The launches came amid Israel’s continuing offensive in Gaza City, where local authorities reported more civilian deaths over the weekend.
The incident followed the release of a UN commission report earlier in the week that accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — the first time a UN-mandated investigative body has reached such a conclusion. Israel dismissed the findings, while rights groups said they added urgency to calls for accountability.
What happened with the latest rocket launches?
The Israeli Defence Forces said sirens were triggered in Lakhish and Ashdod after the launches. One projectile was shot down by air defences while the second fell in southern Israel. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Rocket fire from Gaza has become rare as Israel intensifies its air and ground operations in Gaza City. Gaza’s civil defence agency said six people were killed in Israeli strikes on Sunday, while nearly 90 people were reported dead across the territory the previous day.
What did the UN report conclude?
On Tuesday (September 16), the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry said Israeli authorities have committed four of the five genocidal acts set out in the 1948 Genocide Convention.
These include killings, causing serious harm, deliberately creating conditions intended to destroy a group, and imposing measures to prevent births.
The commission said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials had incited the crime. Israel rejected the accusation as unfounded and politically motivated. The COI does not represent the UN as a whole, but its findings are expected to feed into international legal and diplomatic proceedings.
What is the scale of losses in Gaza?
The war is nearing its second year. Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel killed 1,219 people, according to official figures. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry — regarded by the UN as a reliable source — says nearly 65,000 people have been killed in the territory. Almost the entire population has been displaced.
Rights groups and humanitarian organisations warn that Israel’s conduct has devastated civilian life, while Tel Aviv insists its operations are aimed at dismantling Hamas’s military capacity. The UN report has brought renewed attention to whether Israel’s campaign crosses into the crime of genocide.
