Rockets fired from Gaza land off the coast of central Israel

According to the Israeli military, rockets fired from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip landed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of central Israel on Saturday.

It was unclear whether the rockets were aimed at Israel, although militant organisations based in Gaza frequently test-fire missiles toward the Mediterranean. There were no casualties reported.

Since a cease-fire concluded an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May, there has been no cross-border rocket fire save for one occasion in September.

The Israeli army claimed the rockets landed off the coast of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area in a statement. "According to protocol, no sirens were sounded and no interception took place," it added.

Witnesses in Gaza claimed they awoke at 7 a.m. to the sound of missiles being launched, and photographs on social media showed puffs of white smoke rising from the launch pad.

The cease-fire, which Egypt and other mediators established, has proven shaky. When the Islamic organisation gained control of the coastal enclave in 2007, Hamas claims Israel did not take serious moves to relieve the embargo it imposed on Gaza with Egypt's support.

Other groups, such as the smaller but more hardline Islamic Jihad, have threatened military action if Israel does not end the administrative detention of a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for more than 130 days.

In the first exchange of fire in months, Palestinian militants in Gaza shot and lightly wounded an Israeli civilian near the perimeter line, prompting Israel to reply with tank fire striking various Hamas facilities.