The military said it had launched an investigation after troops “unnecessarily” triggered incoming rocket sirens in the southern city of Sderot and other nearby towns on Sunday evening, after heavy machine-gun fire was detected from the Gaza Strip.
The incident came a day after the Iron Dome air defense system launched interceptor missiles in southern Israel, in another incident still under investigation.
The Israel Defense Forces initially said Sunday the machine-gun fire from Gaza caused the rocket sirens to sound, but in a later statement, said the alarms were “triggered unnecessarily.”
“The matter is being investigated,” the IDF said.
No damage was reported in the shooting, which apparently did not endanger civilians or Israeli towns.
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A woman in her 30s was treated for anxiety after the sirens sounded in Sderot, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.
The sirens also sounded in the towns of Gevim, Ibim, Nir Am and Or Haner, as well as at Sapir College.
The Israel Defense Forces said Iron Dome was not activated during the incident on Sunday, in accordance with its interception protocol.
Machine-gun fire from Gaza, both errant and intentional, has set off rocket alarms in towns close to the border numerous times in recent years.
In another unusual incident on the Gaza border, the IDF said Saturday night that the Iron Dome shot down a drone flying over the Strip, and said that the incident was still unclear several hours later.
Footage showed two Iron Dome interceptor missiles being launched over Sderot, and the army initially said it had taken the drone down.
However, an initial IDF investigation reportedly found that no drone was launched from the Gaza Strip on Saturday night. It still remained unclear what the Iron Dome had actually targeted, if anything.
