JERUSALEM (AFP) - At least five rockets fired from Gaza were shot down over Tel Aviv and the surrounding area on Wednesday, army radio said.

The rocket fire set sirens wailing but all five were intercepted in mid-flight by a battery of Israel's vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system, the radio said.

Hamas' armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades claimed the attack, saying in a statement it had launched four M75 rockets at Israel's commercial capital.

The new salvoes came several hours after rockets were fired at Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv, also claimed by the group, marking the first time since 2012 that Gaza militants have targeted major population centres in Israel.

An army officer said the Israeli air force bombed 160 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight as it pressed a widescale campaign to stop the rocket fire.