Gaza rockets shot down over Jerusalem

Four rockets have been fired at Jerusalem from Gaza, with two landing in open areas causing no injuries and another two shot down.

Gaza militants have fired four rockets at Jerusalem, with two shot down over the city and another two hitting open spaces, the Israeli army says.

Witnesses and Palestinian security officials said one rocket struck near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, while a second hit close to an Israeli military prison near Ramallah.

"Four rockets were fired at Jerusalem, of which two landed in open areas and two were intercepted," an army spokesman told AFP, without giving further details.

Police confirmed the two rockets not intercepted had hit open areas near Maaleh Adumim and in the Ramallah area.

"At this stage there are no injuries," a statement read.

Both the Islamic Jihad and Hamas issued statements taking responsibility for the rockets fired at Jerusalem.

It was the second time in two days that air raid sirens had sounded across the Holy City as Israel and Hamas militants were locked in a fresh round of bitter fighting in and around the Gaza Strip.

Three loud blasts could be heard around the city shortly after sirens wailed, sending people scrambling for shelter, AFP correspondents said.

Sirens also sounded across Maaleh Adumim, and an explosion was heard in Ramallah, witnesses and a correspondent said.

A witness told AFP one struck an open area near Mishor Adumim, an Israeli industrial area adjacent to Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem.

The rocket hit near a cluster of shacks belonging to the Bedouin Jahalin tribe, however it caused no damages or injuries, the witness said.

Further north, Palestinian security sources said a rocket had struck open ground near Ofer, an Israeli military prison that lies to the west of Ramallah.