People stand in a kindergarten yard damaged by mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip that landed near it, in a Kibbutz on the Israeli side of the Israeli-Gaza border, May 29, 2018. (Reuters photo)
JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Tuesday morning that a mortar shell attack from Gaza had hit southern Israel, causing no injuries.
At around 7:00 (around 4:00 GMT) a barrage of 25 mortar shells was launched at Israel, with most of them intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system, a military spokesperson said in a statement.
According to Israel's Ynet news site, one of the rockets fell near a kindergarten that was empty at the time.
Later, three more mortar shells were launched towards several sites in southern Israel, the spokesperson said.
"Most of the launches were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system," the spokesperson said.
The statement added that there were at the moment no special instructions for civilians living in the area of the Gaza Strip. "They should continue listening to Home Front Command instructions," the statement read.
No organization immediately assumed responsibility for the incident but local media cited a security official saying the mortars were likely launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based Islamist group which lost three fighters on Sunday when Israel attacked a military observation position in Gaza.
The European Union Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret condemned the attack. "I know the resilience of communities in southern Israel but indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and to be condemned unreservedly," he tweeted on his Twitter account.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman convened a special meeting with the heads of the security forces "to asses the situation," according to a statement released on his behalf.
The incident followed a serious escalation in the area of the fence separating between the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel over the past months. Israeli soldiers have killed at least 100 Palestinians in Gaza since weekly demonstrations started on March 30.
