Rocket Hits Israeli City of Sderot, on Gaza Border; No Casualties Reported

The rocket exploded outside a house in the city. A police bomb squad was examining the area and fire services were alerted to the scene.
An unconfirmed Palestinian report said the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.

Israel responded with Air Force and tank fire. The Israel Defense Forces said the Air Force struck a Hamas target. Palestinian eyewitnesses reported that an Israeli tank fired six shells at a water storage facility.

Palestinian media reported that Israel targeted a Hamas training site. The reports said the Israeli strike took place in the Beit Hanoun area, in the northeastern Gaza Strip, not far from Sderot.

There was no report of Palestinian casualties.

Rocket sirens sounded in Sderot and nearby communities on the Gaza border, at 2:25 P.M. Minutes later rocket debris were found in a street in Sderot.

Police call on the public to keep away from the scene of the explosion of the rocket.

Last month, a rocket fired from Gaza hit an early childhood development center in Sderot. Nearby buildings were also damaged. No casualties were reported. Israel Air Force then hit what the Israeli army said were four Hamas targets in southern and central Gaza.