Israeli says Palestinian militants fired two rockets at Ashkelon

The Israeli military said on Friday that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets toward southern Israel. The rockets were aimed at the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, but air defenses intercepted them, the military said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage. Volleys of missiles from the Iron Dome defense system illuminated the sky in northern Gaza Strip as they exploded trying to hit the incoming rockets.

Palestinian group in the Hamas-ruled Gaza did not claim responsibility for the rocket fire, which broke months of cross-border calm. Rocket attacks and Israeli retaliatory artillery and aerial strikes are frequent, but they have largely been subdued in recent months due to the raging coronavirus outbreak in both territories.