Gaza Rocket Explodes in Open Area in Southern Israel

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in an open area in the Sdot Negev Regional Council in southern Israel at around 5:00 P.M. on Saturday. No casualties or damage were reported.

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Before the rocket hit, residents in two regional councils near Gaza heard rocket alert sirens.

On Thursday, three rockets were fired from Gaza and exploded in Eshkol Regional Council. They did not result in casualties or damage, either.

Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council head Alon Schuster said that while Israeli has a right to defend itself against the attacks from Gaza, residents living within the reach of rockets hope for a diplomatic breakthrough with the Palestinians.

"This is the 13th year that the area pays the price consistently and with varying intensity for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said.

Last week on Friday, Iron Dome intercepted a rocket fired from Sinai toward Eilat. Al-Qaida affiliated militant organization, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) took responsibility for the Eilat rocket attack.

The Sinai rocket came in response to Israel Air Force jets strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday morning. The IAF strikes came hours after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel, causing no damage or injuries.

Three weeks ago Haaretz reported that Hamas, the Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip, deployed armed men along the borders with Israel to stop militants from firing rockets at Israel and to prevent an escalation in tit-for-tat violence.