Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket into Ashkelon on Israel's Mediterranean coast today, blowing out the windows of an apartment block and damaging parked cars in a residential area of the city.
No one was injured in the blast which ended over a year of calm for the city closest to the enclave ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement.
A police spokesman said the rocket was a 122 mm Chinese-made Grad, with a heavier payload and greater range than the crude, homemade rockets Gaza militants were launching daily until Israel's three-week military offensive into Gaza 18 months ago.
“As you see, hundreds of people live here. It's just luck that no one was killed," said Ashkelon mayor Benny Vaknin.
Ashkelon, with a population of 125,000, lies on the coast about 12 km (7 miles) north of the Gaza Strip.
The mayor said it was the most serious attack on the city since Israel ended its offensive in January 2009 and Gaza rocket fire was suppressed.
"Israel takes the firing on Ashkelon very seriously," Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
The foreign ministry said Israel had the right to respond "at a time and in a way it deems proper". Israel would also lodge a protest with the United Nations for an attack targeting civilians in violation of international law, it said.
UN special coordinator Robert Serry said in a statement "indiscriminate rocket fire against civilians is completely unacceptable and constitutes a terrorist attack". Hamas must not allow militant violence to undermine progress in the talks between Israel and the Palestinians, he said.
Reuters