Hours after Palestinian militants in the area fired six rockets towards Israel’s south, the Israeli army began airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip.
The violence increased the day after an Israeli army incursion in the West Bank’s occupied territory resulted in 11 deaths.
The strikes took place on Thursday just after 6 a.m., and Israel’s military confirmed them in a statement.
The military reported that Israel’s air defences had earlier stopped five rockets aimed at the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot.
One more rocket touched down in an open space. No reports of harm or damage were made.
Three militants who were near the heart of the old city were the focus of an Israeli military operation that was undertaken early on Wednesday morning on the West Bank city of Nablus.
Eight people, including a 72-year-old man and a youngster, were also killed in addition to the three wanted individuals.
According to Palestinian officials, at least 103 individuals were hurt, many of them had bullet wounds.
The raid was one of the largest in the previous year, which saw a steady deterioration of the situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
After a similar raid in January, a Palestinian militant attack close to an East Jerusalem synagogue resulted in the deaths of seven Israelis.
The raid was referred to as a “serious crime” that “the resistance must respond to” by Ziad al-Nakhala, the militant group’s head from Gaza known as Islamic Jihad.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US state department, stated during a routine press briefing on Wednesday that Washington acknowledged Israel’s security concerns but was deeply alarmed by the significant number of casualties and loss of civilian life.
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