Two rockets fired from Sinai landed in southern Israel Friday afternoon, the first such attack since last summer.
The rockets, which hit in the Eshkol Regional Council, caused no injuries and did no damage, according to police, but the strikes come at a time of increased tension along the Israel-Egypt border.
Israel closed Road 12 along the Egyptian border in the wake coordinated attacks — for which ISIS claimed responsibility — against Egyptian military checkpoints in north Sinai. The attacks Wednesday left 17 Egyptian soldiers dead and 30 injured.
Israel temporarily closed the Nitzana border crossing into Sinai, used for commercial traffic. It has since been reopened.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the attacks while slamming the U.N. Human Rights Council for adopting a resolution condemning Israel based on a recent report about the 2014 Gaza war.
“On the day on which Israel was fired at from Sinai, and at a time when ISIS is committing vicious terrorist attacks in Egypt, as (Bashar al) Assad slaughters his people in Syria and as the number of arbitrary executions per annum climbs in Iran — the U.N. Human Rights Council decides to condemn the State of Israel for no fault of its own, for acting to defend itself from a murderous terrorist organization.”
A short time before the rocket attacks, sirens went off in southern Israel, which has become an increasing occurrence in recent weeks after months of silence since the Gaza war.
In the past month, rockets from Gaza have landed in southern Israel three times, according to the Israel Defense Forces, including a rocket on June 23 that landed near Yad Mordechai, a community just north of Gaza.
Another rocket fell short of Israeli territory and landed in Gaza.
The Omar Brigades, a Salafist group in Gaza claiming loyalty to ISIS, has taken responsibility for some of the rocket attacks, which have caused no injuries or damage.
In response, the IDF struck “terrorist infrastructure” in Gaza. The retaliatory airstrikes caused no injuries.
