Rocket sirens sound in western Negev in false alarm

Sirens warning of an incoming rocket attack sounded on Saturday evening in several communities in southern Israel in what the Israeli military later said was a false alarm. It was not clear whether no rockets had been fired or if they had landed inside Gaza.

The sirens came some 24 hours after two rockets were fired at Israel cities, one of which hit a residential area in Sderot and the second of which was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over Ashkelon.

The alarms were heard in Miflasim, Kfar Azza and Kibbutz Sa’ad in the western Negev Saturday night at around 10:30 pm.

On Friday evening, the Iron Dome intercepted a rocket fired at the southern city of Ashkelon, hours after a similar attack saw a rocket strike land in a residential area of Sderot.

The interception was the first since last summer’s 50-day war between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.

Local residents reported hearing loud explosions in the Ashkelon area shortly before midnight. There were no injuries reported in the attack.

Israel later carried out air strikes on three Hamas targets in Gaza.

There were no direct injuries in the Sderot strike, although there was some damage to property, and several people needed treatment for shock.

A Palestinian Salafist group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday attacks. The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade has claimed a number of rocket attacks against Israel this year in defiance of Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Israel Police said that a bus was damaged in the Sderot strike, while the Ynet website reported that a home was also damaged. The residents were inside at the time of the strike, Ynet said, adding that several people were treated at the scene for shock. One woman was taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon after complaining of chest pains and ringing in her ears.