A rocket launched from the
Gaza Strip at a southern
Israeli city on Wednesday as it hosted a campaign rally by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu prompted him to take shelter briefly before resuming the event, Israeli TV stations reported.
The Israeli military confirmed the launch against Ashkelon, which is 12 km (7.5 miles) from the coastal Palestinian enclave, and said the rocket was shot down by an Iron Dome air defense interceptor.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Gaza, which is under the control of Hamas Islamists and where a smaller armed faction, Islamic Jihad, exchanged
fire with Israel during a two-day surge of violence last month.