Militants in the Gaza Strip on Saturday fired a rocket at Israel, a second such attack from the Palestinian enclave that hit the Jewish state in less than a week, Israeli officials said.

A statement by the Israeli army said the rocket exploded in an open field in the southern town of Ashkelon, causing no injuries or damages, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Wednesday, two rockets had hit southern Israel. Israeli warplanes carried an airstrike at "terror targets" in response, a military spokesperson said.

A Jihadist Salafi organization that supports the IS militant group claimed responsibility for the firing. It said the rockets were launched in response to the killing of one of their leaders by Hamas, which has controlled the coastal enclave since 2007.

The Salafi group and Hamas are in a struggle over the control of the Strip.

Last August, Israel and Hamas reached a fragile cease-fire agreement after a 50-day mini war in which thousands of rockets were launched to hit communities throughout Israel.

The massive military campaign last summer killed more than 2, 200 Palestinians and nearly 80 Israelis, and caused huge damage to Gaza's infrastructure.