Israel fired on terrorist sites in Gaza in response to rocket fire on southern Israel.
A long-range Grad rocket was fired from Gaza late Wednesday night. The rocket landed in an open area near the city of Ashdod in Israel's south. Ashdod has more than 200,000 residents.
Color Red warning sirens also went off in Rehovot, Rishon Letzion and other area communities, according to reports.
Shortly after the rocket attack, Israel's Air Force fired on what it called three "terror activity sites in the Central Gaza Strip" and a weapons storage facility in southern Gaza. Direct hits on the terror targets were confirmed, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
It was the first rocket attack from Gaza since the Shalit prisoner swap last week. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The last time rockets were fired from Gaza on Israel was three weeks ago.
Also on Wednesday night an IDF vehicle on patrol near the West Bank settlement of Efrat was damaged in an attack by a roadside bomb, JTA reported.
