(VOVworld) - The Israeli military says Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired a rocket into southern Israel, amid a sharp increase in tensions. A statement said sirens were triggered in Israeli communities near the border but the rocket landed in open countryside and no-one was hurt.

The incident took place amid escalating violence between Israel and Palestine as 8 Palestinian people, including 2 women, died on Friday in the West Bank and Gaza strip in the bloodiest clash in Gaza since last summer.