A rocket was fired into southern Israel from Gaza on Thursday night, ending four months of relative calm in the area.

Israelis were called into bomb shelters after the emergency siren sounded in Sderot.

The Israel Defence Forces confirmed that the rocket exploded in an open area near kibbutzim. No one was injured in the attack.

An IDF spokesman tweeted: “In response to tonight's rocket attack, the IDF has targeted terror infrastructure in northern Gaza.”

It has been suggested that the rocket was fired by a Gazan terror group – not Hamas.