The Israeli military has deployed a helicopter to attack Hamas positions in the southern Gaza Strip, in retaliation to an earlier rocket attack on Israeli territory.

"In response, an IDF attack helicopter targeted a Hamas military post in southern Gaza," the Israeli military said on Twitter.

Earlier, a rocket launched from Gaza landed in Israel, in the first such attack in over a month, the IDF spokesperson’s office said. The projectile allegedly hit an open area in southern Israel and so the Red Alert alarm warning system was not activated.

In response, an IDF attack helicopter targeted a Hamas military post in southern Gaza. — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 29, 2018

The exchange of fire followed the killing of a Palestinian during Friday's border protest clashes with the IDF. Hamas had earlier warned that it will retaliate with rocket and sniper fire if Palestinians are killed on the Gaza border.

Last month Israel and Hamas were on the brink of a large-scale conflict after the militant organization fired more than 400 rockets and mortars at Israel, in apparent retaliation to a botched IDF raid. The IDF responded by sending its warplanes to bomb around a hundred sites in Gaza. The standoff led to the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who refused to accept the Egypt-brokered ceasefire. Currently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the country’s acting military chief.

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