Gaza rocket hits southern Israel

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at southern Israel that exploded without causing damage or injuries, an Israeli police spokesman told AFP on Monday. "It exploded near a kibbutz in the Eshkol region," shortly before midnight on Sunday, said Micky Rosenfeld, adding police were still searching for the remains of what he said was a Qassam rocket. Last Thursday, two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel, also causing no casualties or damage. The last incident of cross-border fire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza was on June 24, when the radical Islamic Jihad group fired five rockets at Israel, which retaliated with air strikes. As the ruling authority in Gaza, Hamas is responsible for ensuring that militant groups respect the terms of a truce brokered by Egypt that ended a major eight-day confrontation with Israel in November.