Israeli fighter jets fired missiles early Thursday targeting several Hamas facilities in response to a rocket launched from the Hamas-ruled enclave into Israel, security officials and eyewitnesses said.
The sources said that Israeli war jets attacked several rockets posts and facilities belong to Hamas armed wing in southern and northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli airstrikes left severe damage to the facilities and nearby constructions. There was no immediate report of injuries, they said.
The airstrikes on the Gaza Strip were carried out shortly after the Israeli army announced that one homemade rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and that another rocket was intercepted by the Israeli army Iron Dome.
The exchange of fire came a few hours after a senior Egyptian security intelligence delegation met with Hamas leaders and leaders of various factions in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting discussed a possible truce with Israel and an internal reconciliation with Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Violence in the Gaza Strip intensified after eight Palestinian young men were injured by the gunfire of the Israeli soldiers during anti-Israel protests in southern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli drones carried out two successive airstrikes on a Hamas lookout post close to the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel. No injuries were reported.
An Israeli army spokesman said earlier that the airstrikes came after Palestinians released arson balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
Medics said that more than 200 Palestinians have been killed and around 22,000 wounded since the beginning of anti-Israel marches at the border on March 30.
