Gaza rockets fired at Israel end lull in violence

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Israel on Friday, police said, ending a lull in cross-border violence since an informal ceasefire took effect earlier in the week.

Israel often responds to such attacks with air strikes in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

An Israeli police spokesperson said two rockets were fired in the direction of the southern Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashekelon but neither caused injuries or damage.

Violence flared last week after Hamas militants fired an anti-tank rocket across the border at an Israeli school bus, critically wounding an Israeli teenager. Israel retaliated with air and ground strikes, killing 19 Palestinians.

Militants in Gaza had fired at least 140 rockets at Israel during the four days of fighting, which had subsided since Egyptian and UN mediators achieved an informal truce on Sunday.