Residents of southern Israel were sent running to shelters Wednesday night when they heard the Red Alert air raid siren warning them of an incoming rocket attack in Gaza Belt region communities.

However, Israeli defense officials notified media within the hour that apparently the sirens that activated in numerous Gaza border communities had been triggered by mistake, and the alert was a “false alarm.”

Reportedly there were sounds of explosions on the other side of Israel’s southern border in the northern Sinai Peninsula, but it is not clear whether the two incidents were related.

A rocket alert went off at 5:54 PM in Nachal Oz / Shaar HaNegev area, near the Gaza Border.

It is still unclear if a rocket was launched or not, and if so where it landed. No injuries or damage have been reported.

Approximately an hour earlier, Hamas launched 2 test rockets into the sea from the former location of Gush Katif.

IAF aircraft bombed a Hamas military training facility in central Gaza early Monday. The attack came in retaliation to a rocket attack late Sunday night.

Red Alert air raid sirens woke sleeping children and families in communities in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, triggered by the rocket fire from Gaza.

In January alone, three rockets have been launched from Gaza and have hit Israeli territory. IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said, “Tonight, families in southern Israel were once again forced to find shelter, fleeing radical Islamic terrorism emanating from the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas is responsible and is accountable for all attacks from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue to operate and defend against those that undermine Israeli sovereignty while jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of civilians.”

A rocket alert went off up north in the Rosh Hanikra/Nahariya/Western Galil region at 5:42 PM, following a rocket launch from Lebanon.

Three rockets landed in Israel in open areas near Nahariya, according to Channel 2. No injuries were reported.

There are reports that the IDF is responding with artillery fire.

After the child-killing Hezbollah terrorist Samir Kuntar was killed in an alleged Israeli air strike this morning, it was expected there would be some response.

Residents of the northern town of Shlomi have been told to stay near their bomb shelters.

A rocket alert went off at 6:45 PM along the Gaza border.

No further information is available yet as to whether there was a launch at Israel or if this is a “false alarm”.

Initial reports are saying the rocket landed in an open area outside of a Gaza border community.

No injuries or damage are reported.

I bet you thought Gaza’s terrorists forgot about us.

7:29 PM Rocket alert Gaza border.

Rocket landed in an open area. No injuries or damage reported.

6:59 PM Rocket fell in open area. No injuries or damage reported.

6:52 PM Rocket Alert: Gaza Border