Rocket sirens sound on Gaza border

Rocket sirens sounded in the Eshkol region near the Gaza border Monday morning, causing residents of the area to rush to bomb shelters.

Security services were searching the area for possible rocket or mortar falls, but officials said no specific launch had been identified.

The sirens are part of Israel’s missile defense system and warn of incoming rocket fire from the Hamas-run territory.

Dozens of rockets as well as mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip last week at southern Israeli towns. The IDF responded with aerial and artillery fire at dozens of “terror targets” in the Strip.

The Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attacks from Gaza, saying it had launched an ongoing “military operation,” which it termed “Breaking the Silence.”

The group announced a ceasefire on Thursday afternoon, though more than a dozen rockets were shot at Israel later that day.

No Israeli or Palestinian casualties were reported in the rocket barrage and response, the largest flare-up between the sides since Operation Pillar of Defense in late 2012.