A man takes a photo of a window damaged by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip that landed near it, in a kibbutz on the Israeli side of the Israeli-Gaza border, June 20, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.

Rocket warning sirens sounded on Thursday in Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Gaza Strip, the military said.

It marked the first time sirens have warned of possible incoming rockets from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave since the 2014 Israel-Gaza war.

Israel Radio said explosions were heard on the outskirts of the city of 200,000, amid a surge of cross-border fighting between Israel and terrorist groups in Gaza.