Militants in Gaza fired a rocket into southern Israel Saturday, another move in a series of breaches by both sides that threaten a fragile ceasefire between the Israeli military and Hamas.
The rocket, which exploded near the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, did not cause any injuries or serious damage, according to an Israeli military spokesperson.
Since a ceasefire was declared two weeks ago, Palestinian militants have sporadically fired rockets into Israel. Rocket fire was blamed for the death of one Israeli soldier last Tuesday.
However, Saturday's attack was the first from Gaza since Thursday.
Israel meanwhile has retaliated with military strikes, in addition to hammering border tunnels it says Hamas uses to smuggle arms and money from Egypt into Gaza.
Under the terms of their truce, both sides have agreed not to attack one another. But the multiple breaches have put diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting peace deal on shaky footing.
The ceasefire ended three weeks of fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas. Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27 in an effort to halt rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel.
Nearly 1,300 Palestinians were killed during the fighting, about half of them civilians, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Thirteen Israelis were also killed, including three civilians.
Meanwhile Saturday, relations between Israel and Turkey remained strained. In an interview with the Washington Post, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Israel for turning the West Bank and Gaza Strip into "an open-air prison."
He also accused Israel of provoking Hamas with its policies in the Palestinian territories.
"You expect them to sit obediently?" Erdogan asked.
Tensions between the two countries rose on Thursday, as Erdogan got into a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres during a panel discussion in Davos, Switzerland.
Erdogan accused Israel of killing Palestinian children, and suggested on Friday that Israel intentionally allowed the civilian death toll during the three weeks of fighting to continue growing.
With files from The Associated Press
