Israeli fighter jets target Gaza Strip; no casualties reported | Al Jazeera

Israeli warplanes have targeted the southern Gaza Strip after rockets were fired from the coastal enclave.

Palestinian sources said the air attacks early on Monday struck an agricultural field in the southern city of Rafah, as well as land near the al-Furqan mosque in the town of al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis.

According to a statement from the Israeli army, two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards the coast near the southern city of Ashdod.

“In response … fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip, including tunnel digging sites,” the military said.

There were no reports of damage from the Palestinian rockets, with Israeli army sources indicating they landed in the Mediterranean Sea.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said the Israeli missiles caused material damage but no injuries.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches from Gaza.

Despite a Qatar-brokered truce between Hamas and Israel in August, there have been several flare-ups of violence in recent months.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli-Egyptian air, land and naval blockade since 2007, shortly after Hamas took control of the territory after a pre-emptive coup orchestrated by its rival faction, Fatah.

Hamas maintains an unofficial ceasefire with Israel, but Israel holds the group responsible for any attacks emanating from Gaza.

Hamas, meanwhile, accuses Israel of failing to honour its truce obligations, which include easing the blockade on the Palestinian enclave and allowing for large-scale infrastructure and job-creation projects.