Four Gaza rockets fired at Israel, military says, no casualties or damage reported

Four rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. Two of the projectiles were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system, the military said in a statement. Israel's Channel 13 television said the other two projectiles struck uninhabited areas.

Sirens warning of rocket fire sounded in several Israeli communities near the Gaza frontier. Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said no injuries or damage were reported in the first such attack in three weeks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which Israel keeps under blockade citing security concerns over its Islamist rulers Hamas.

Last month, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon as it hosted a rally with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting him to seek shelter briefly before returning to the venue. No one was hurt. But simmering tensions have mostly remained calm since a two-day surge of violence in November between Israel and the armed Gaza-based faction Islamic Jihad that left 34 Palestinians dead and dozens of Israelis injured.