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Update: Israeli forces hit Gaza target after late night rocket attack

Xinhua, June 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck a target in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip overnight following a rocket attack on southern Israel earlier Tuesday night, the IDF confirmed in a statement issued in the early hours of Wednesday.

The statement said a rocket fired from the tiny coastal territory late Tuesday hit an open area adjacent to the Yad Mordechai community, with no injuries reported.

"In response to this attack, the IDF struck the launcher from which the rocket was fired at Israel earlier tonight. A hit was confirmed," it said.

It is not immediately clear whether the retaliation caused any casualties on the ground.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF spokesman, was quoted as saying that the rocket attack forced Israeli civilians to once again find shelter to flee "the incessant, in-discriminating and intolerable attacks emanating from the Gaza Strip."

No Palestinian group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday's rocket attack.

On August 26, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement after 51 days of war. However, tension along the border is high, with occasional rocket fire by Gaza militants and frequent shootings by Israeli forces at Gaza fishermen.

On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council released a report accusing both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing serious violations of international law in the 2014 conflict.

The war saw the death of 1,462 Palestinian citizens, a third of them children, and six Israeli citizens. Endit