Gaza Militants Fire Rockets Near Sharon's Burial Place, Official Says

Gaza militants fired two rockets that hit an area close to the ranch where former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was laid to rest on Monday, a military spokeswoman said.

The Israeli military responded with two air raids on the central and southern parts of the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

"Two rockets hit the Shaar HaNegev region" but fell in an uninhabited area, the army said, referring to the area around the northern border with Gaza.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the militants targeted the town of Sderot, which lies very close to the Gaza border, and just four kilometres (2.5 miles) west of Sycamore Ranch, causing no injuries or damage.

Given the ranch's proximity to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, the Israeli police and army had beefed up security in the area, with unconfirmed media reports saying the military had deployed a battery of the Iron Dome missile defence system to counter possible rocket attacks.

In retaliation for the rockets, "Israeli warplanes targeted two terrorist sites in the centre and south of the strip," the military statement said.

Witnesses and security sources in the Palestinian territory said the strikes hit a Islamic Jihad training camp at Khan Yunis and a Hamas one at Nuseirat.

One child was slightly injured in Nuseirat, medical sources said.

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