The Israeli military says it has carried out an airstrike in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket reportedly launched from the coastal area into southern Israel.

The military says the rocket landed early Thursday in an open area near the city of Ashkelon. It says Israeli warplanes retaliated by targeting Palestinian territory.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire.

According to official United Nations figures, 2,104 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, of whom 495 were children and 253 women were killed in last year's strikes by the Israeli forces.

During the Israeli war on Gaza 69 Israelis, including four civilians, were also killed. Israeli Defense Forces launched the "Operation Protective Edge" on July 8, 2014 and the war continued for 50 days, during which 108,000 people had their homes destroyed or severely damaged as a result of thousands of artillery and tank shells fired into mostly residential areas of Gaza.

In addition, public buildings such as schools and hospitals were also among the places attacked by Israeli airstrikes.