Gaza militants fire rockets at southern Israel

Militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening fired two rockets at southern Israel, local media reported. The rockets exploded at the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. One of the projectiles hit a warehouse near a kindergarten, the Ynet news reported. No injuries were reported in the attack. Police sappers were sent to the scene to search for unexploded ordnance. An air raid siren sounded in the area shortly after the rockets were launched, alerting residents to take cover in protected areas. On Monday, an Israeli air strike on a Hamas facility in northern Gaza killed a naval policeman and wounded seven others. It came on the heels of an earlier rocket attack carried out by the Islamic group from the coastal territory. Earlier Tuesday, Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said periodic rocket attacks from Gaza that disrupt life in southern Israel, home to a million people, may eventually force a major offensive in the Hamas-run territory. Speaking at a closed briefing to parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Gantz said the army would have to mount "a significant and aggressive" operation in Gaza for a "limited period of time" in order to put a stop to the recent spike in attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Israel Radio quoted participants in the briefing who spoke on condition of anonymity. The army chief added that the operation would have to be "as brief and intensive as possible, and based on good intelligence and fast deployment, which requires high readiness and high- quality personnel." Israel last invaded Gaza in late 2008 in an operation dubbed " Cast Lead," which followed years of rocket attacks perpetrated by Hamas and smaller militant factions. Some 1,200 Palestinians and a dozen Israeli troops were killed during the course of three weeks of fighting.