Tel Aviv - A rocket fired by Palestinian militants landed for the first time ever in the southern Israeli town of Gedera, lightly injuring a three-month-old baby, residents said.

The town of 18,000, north-east of the port city of Ashdod, is located over 40 kilometres from the northernmost tip of the Gaza Strip.

Some five Israelis were also evacuated to hospital in "shock." (dpa)