A terrorist rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in Southern Israel near the heavily populated town of Ashkelon, the Israeli Army confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
It was not clear if Hamas or another splinter faction was responsible for the attack, which comes following a relatively long period of calm between Israel and the Palestinians following an intense war last summer.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner confirmed that "at least one rocket launched from Gaza struck Southern Israel" late Tuesday.
No one has been reported as injured as a result of the strike.
Alarms warning of the incoming rocket attack could be heard signaling through Ashkelon and surrounding areas.
The IDF later confirmed that rocket sirens had gone off and one rocket landed in Israel.
Some sources speculated that the splinter terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was responsible for the attack, though that could not be immediately confirmed.
Shortly after the attack, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior evacuated Hamas’ security headquarters in Gaza out of fear of an Israeli reprisal, according to Palestinian media reports.
Hamas denied that its military wing had anything to do with the attack.
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Hamas will be held responsible for any attack—by its own military wing or another group’s—on Israeli soil.
The rocket fire comes as Israeli officials renew warnings about the threat posed by a complex tunnel system running underneath the Gaza Strip and into Israel. Hamas has sought to use these tunnels to carry out terror attacks and abduct Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah also has begun digging a similar system of tunnels around Israel’s northern border, according to reports.