Streaks of light are seen as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards central Israel as seen from Ashkelon, Israel May 16, 2021 REUTERS/Amir Cohen

i24 News – For a third consecutive day, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, Sunday evening.

The artillery fire was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, the Israeli military said. No direct casualties or damage from the rocket was reported.

A man and his young son suffered light injuries while running to shelter during the siren in Sderot, the Times of Israel (ToI) reported.

Cross border fire occurred Saturday and Friday night, as tensions rose between Israel and Gazan militants, following the escape of several Palestinian prisoners last week.

Four of the six escapees were recaptured over the weekend, prompting Hamas, which rules Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — the organization to which five of the prisoners belong — to escalate tensions.

Israel follows a policy of holding Hamas responsible for any fire from the Gaza Strip, irrespective of which organization conducted it.

It conducted airstrikes over the weekend, targeting what the army said was militant infrastructure.

Earlier Sunday evening the army’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned militants not to continue increasing tensions, ToI reported.

“If the situation escalates, Hamas and the Gaza Strip will pay a heavy price,” he said during a naval ceremony.

Separately the army said it fired flares in the vicinity of the northern Israeli town of Metula, due to suspicion that an infiltration of the border occurred.

At the time of writing it was not clear if an individual or individuals crossed northwards, into Lebanon, or southwards into Israel.