The armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement on Monday claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of rockets at southern Israel, a statement said.

The claim came shortly after the Israeli military confirmed that "several dozen rockets" were fired across the border, without saying how many had actually struck Israeli territory.

"Al-Qassam fired dozens of rockets on Netivot and Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ofakim in response to the Zionist aggression," a statement said.