JERUSALEM -- Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday, just hours ahead of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's funeral, the Israeli army said. The projectiles did not appear to have landed in Israel.
The location in southern Israel where Sharon was to be buried later in the day is within range of rockets from the Palestinian territory and rockets in the past have hit the area.
The military said Monday's rocket fire caused no injuries or damage. Israeli media said the rockets were fired into the sea.
Media in Israel also said the Iron Dome anti-missile system has been deployed near Sharon's ranch in southern Israel to protect against rockets during the funeral. The military declined to comment.
Increased police forces were deployed for the funeral, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Hundreds of Israeli VIPs and international dignitaries, including U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, attended a state memorial ceremony for Sharon, who died Saturday after a stroke left him in a coma for the last eight years. He was 85.
Later Monday, a convoy with Sharon's casket left the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem and drove toward the site of a 1948 battle in which he was wounded. From there, it was to continue to Sharon's private desert ranch for burial.
Biden was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the funeral.
