Palestinian militants fire rocket at Israel from Gaza

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched a rocket on Sunday which landed in an open area near the town of Sderot in southern Israel, setting fire to a field, Israeli police said.

The rocket was the first to be fired into Israel since late August.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there were no casualties and that the fire was extinguished by emergency services.

Following the incident, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure of crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Monday, a statement from his office said. Israel has taken similar action after previous recent firings.

Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire in June after months of heavy rocket fire and Israeli raids into the coastal enclave.

The ceasefire calls on both sides to stop cross-border violence and on Israel to ease a blockade on the Gaza Strip that was tightened after Hamas Islamists seized the territory more than a year ago.

The truce has largely held, although Gaza militants have occasionally fired rockets into Israel and the Jewish state has periodically closed its borders with the narrow coastal strip.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Mariam Karouny)