JERUSALEM: A Qassam rocket and six mortar rounds hit southern Israel on Wednesday morning, the Israeli military said, with the rocket landing near the southern Israeli port city of Ashkelon.
A military spokeswoman said the Qassam had slammed into an open area just south of the city at around 1:30 am (2330 GMT), after which six mortar bombs landed in open areas near Gaza’s northeastern border with Israel.
"None of them caused any injury or damage," she said, indicating that 12 projectiles have been fired into southern Israel since Sunday morning. So far, no one has been hurt.
Israel police also confirmed that a rocket had landed near Ashkelon. "It exploded in a field without causing any injuries or damage," police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told AFP.
The flurry of rocket and mortar fire came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem to advance peace talks.
It follows months of relative calm since Israel’s devastating offensive against Gaza at the turn of 2008-9, which it said was aimed at stamping out rocket fire from the territory.
The conflict cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.
Meanwhile, e US embassy in Jordan warned on Wednesday that it has "credible" information of a possible "imminent threat" around the southern port city of Aqaba.
"Credible information has been received regarding a possible imminent threat in the Gulf of Aqaba region," the embassy said in a brief statement on its website.
"The US embassy recommends that all non-official and personal travel to Aqaba be deferred for at least the next 48 hours. For those US citizens resident in Aqaba, the downtown and port areas should be avoided if possible."
The statement did not give further details.
Jordanian officials were not immediately available for comment.
On August 2, at least five blasts struck around Aqaba and the neighbouring Israeli port of Eliat.
One rocket exploding in open ground outside Eilat, two crashed into the sea and the rest hit Jordan, killing one person in the kingdom.
The two ports are nestled on narrow strips of coastline at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, a waterway bordered on one side by Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the other by Saudi Arabia that leads into the Red Sea.
