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Three rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Tuesday (August 19), the Israeli military said, hours before a truce with Palestinian militant groups was set to expire.
Israel and the Palestinians have been struggling to reach a lasting deal in Egyptian-mediated talks before a day-long extension of a Gaza ceasefire runs out.
A military spokeswoman said the rockets landed in open areas near the city of Beersheba and there were no reports of casualties. Reuters witnesses in Gaza City said they heard the sound of rockets being launched from the Palestinian enclave.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack "a grave and direct violation of the ceasefire."
The chief Palestinian delegate to the indirect negotiations in Cairo with Israel cautioned that violence could erupt anew if they failed.
After a last-minute agreement was struck on Monday to extend by 24 hours, until