Israel's army artillery fired on Thursday night several shells on northern Gaza town of Beit Hanon, causing no damages or casualties, medics and security sources said.

The shelling came only hours after an earlier rocket fired from the Strip into Israel, and is believed to be a response to the rocket attack.

Ashraf al-Qedra, Gaza health ministry spokesman, said in a press statement that no injuries were reported so far. He also quoted security officials in Gaza as saying that several explosions were heard in northern Gaza, and no damages were caused.

Earlier, Israel announced that a rocket was fired from northern Gaza Strip into Israel, according to Israeli Radio. It also reported that the rocket fell into southern Israel, leaving no injuries or damages.

The incident came as Israel was celebrating its 67th Independence Day.

In a short statement, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted "a terror infrastructure" in the northern Gaza Strip, reiterating that it "will not tolerate any attempt to harm the safety of the residents of Israel."

According to a report of Israel's Ha'aretz daily, IDF tanks struck targets in the northern Gaza Strip just before midnight Thursday.

A senior Islamic Hamas movement official said on Thursday that his group has not been aware of any rocket being fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

"We don't have any indications of launching any projectile, and the Palestinian factions are committed to the existing truce," Ismail Radwan told Xinhua over telephone.

In Israel, an initial IDF investigation suggested that Hamas was not involved in the rocket firing, and the attack was likely initiated by rebellious elements in the coastal enclave.

The IDF sources believed that like in previous incidents since the end of Israel's Operation Protective Edge last August, the rocket attack was a one-time incident, which does not signal an escalation, according to the report.

In August, a fragile truce put an end to a 50-day mini war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas militants. About 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed during the fighting. On the Israeli side, it claimed the lives of 73 people, all but six were soldiers.

Israeli military officials said that since then, there have been a few cases of rocket firing from Gaza, apparently directed at Israel, but no rocket had hit Israeli territory.

Meanwhile, Robert Turner, head of UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, said in a statement that the Strip is "awaiting starvation and the humanitarian situation is catastrophic." Endit

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