国际英语新闻:Gaza rocket takes Netanyahu offstage in political rally in southern Israel

JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- A rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip toward a southern Israeli city on Wednesday night while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking in a political rally, forcing him off the stage.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that the rocket triggered warning sirens in the city of Ashkelon and the area before Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system intercepted it.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The rocket was fired as Netanyahu was speaking in an event a day before his Likud party's leadership primary. Video footage emerged on social networks, showing security personnel escorting Netanyahu and his wife off the stage.

Local media reported that the two were rushed to a protected area.

In September, Netanyahu was taken off the stage at a conference in the southern city of Ashdod while a rocket from Gaza triggered sirens in the city.

Israeli media widely referred to the incident as one of the triggers to the Israeli "Black Belt" military operation in November, during which a senior Islamic Jihad commander, Baha Abu al-Atta, was killed in Gaza. His killing sparked two-day fights that claimed the lives of at least 34 Palestinians in Gaza.