Gaza rocket lands in southern Israel
JERUSALEM - A rocket fired by militants in the Palestinian Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli army said, with no reports of damage or injuries.
"Rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. One hit near the community of Gan-Yavne," an army statement said of a community east of the port city of Ashdod.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted: “Police bomb disposal & patrol units search open areas in South-lachish region after sirens go off this evening. No damage/injuries reported.”
Eyewitnesses in Gaza told AFP they had seen one rocket being fired at Israel from the Palestinian enclave.
There was no claim of responsibility, but Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner tweeted, "Hamas is responsible for all attacks originating from the strip."
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Palestinian factions in Gaza did not immediately comment.
Last month a rocket fired from Gaza hit Israel, prompting the army to retaliate with tank fire. Nobody was hurt.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Palestinians have for the past several months experienced regular fire from Israeli forces. Agricultural workers whose farms lie close to the border with Israel have often been shot at, and the Israeli navy has targeted fishermen they claim ventured outside Israel’s “designated fishing zone” off the coast of Gaza.
According to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights, in the month of March alone, there were 35 incidents of shootings by the Israeli military, incursions into Gaza, and arrests.
Israel has also carried out two airstrikes on Gaza so far in 2015.
On Twitter Tuesday, some activists and analysts complained about what they considered unfair media coverage of ongoing aggression between Gaza and Israel:
Last summer, Israel went to war against Hamas, the de facto power in Gaza.
The 50-day conflict killed about 2,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side, most of them soldiers.
It caused heavy damage to Gaza's infrastructure and damaged more than 160,000 homes.
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