Rocket from Gaza hits open area in southern Israel

At least one rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Monday evening, as air-raid sirens sounded across the communities adjacent to the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.

The Israel Defense Forces said the rocket, which landed in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, caused no injuries or damage.

Local residents reported hearing an explosion outside one of the Israeli communities adjacent to the border fence.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Recent rocket fire from the Gaza Strip has been claimed by an Islamic State-affiliated Salafist group at odds with Hamas.

Monday’s incident comes one week after a rocket fired from Gaza landed in an open field near a kibbutz in southern Israel, and after weeks of sporadic clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians along the Gaza border.

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Palestinians from Gaza have broken through the border fence with Israel several times in the last two weeks. In addition, they have staged protests in solidarity with West Bank Palestinians who have repeatedly clashed with Israeli troops.

During a visit to the IDF’s Gaza Division headquarters in the Western Negev last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a security briefing that said the Gaza border was “under control.”