Gaza mortar fire on Israel for first time since truce — army

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Palestinians fired a mortar round into southern Israel Tuesday in the first attack since an August 26 ceasefire, without causing any casualties, the Israeli army said.

"For the first time since operation Protective Edge, a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit southern Israel," Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said on Twitter, referring to the military offensive in Gaza.

"No damage or injuries reported," he added.

In July, Israel launched the operation with the declared aim of halting rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. An ensuing 50-day war with fighters killed at least 2,143 Palestinians, nearly 70 per cent of them civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side.

The sides, working through Egyptian mediators, are supposed to start negotiations in Cairo this month to agree a more formal and long-term version of the existing open-ended truce.