Palestinians fire rocket from Gaza into southern Israel

IDF says soldiers search for projectile after confirming a hit in Hof Ashkelon area; no injuries reported

By Alexander Fulbright 8 August 2017, 9:50 pm

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A photo from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border shows a smoke trail of rockets being fired by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip into Israel, August 22, 2014. (AFP/Jack Guez)

Warnings sirens blared in southern Israel Tuesday as a rocket from the Gaza Strip was fired into the country, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The army said the projectile struck an open area in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.

No injures were immediately reported, and soldiers were searching the area, the IDF said.

While no group immediately claimed Tuesday’s rocket fire, Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rockets emanating from the Strip.

Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza, has largely refrained from firing rockets into Israel since it fought a devastating war with Israel in 2014. Launches have often been ascribed to radical Salafist groups.

Last month, the IDF said that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in an open area of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, after earlier saying that the rocket had exploded in mid-air.

In June, the Israel Air Force struck a number of targets tied to the Hamas terror group in response to a rocket launch from the coastal enclave.

In recent months, a number of false warning sirens have also been heard in southern Israel.