Illustration: rocket fire
Illustration: rocket fireReuters

Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a rocket Thursday night at southern Israel. No damage or injuries were reported as the lethal projectile landed in open space in the Sdot Negev Regional Council.

A statement from police reported the rocket "hit southern Israel in an open area south of (the town of) Netivot." 

"Code Red" warning sirens were sounded in the surrounding communities.

Exchanges with Gaza have picked up lately, as reports noted 17 rockets had been fired from Gaza in the first 17 days of January, leading security officials to declare the Egypt-enforced Operation Pillar of Defense ceasefire as moot and dead.

Israel's Chief of Military Intelligence, Major General Aviv Kohavi, announced Wednesday that there are 170,000 rockets aimed at Israel from all sides.

"We cannot continue to call Hezbollah a terror group," Kohavi maintained. "They have over 100,000 rockets and missiles, some of them advanced. The same can be said of Hamas. The line between a terror organization and a military organization continues to blur."