At least five Palestinians were wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, medics said on Sunday.
The Israeli military said the air strikes on Sunday came in retaliation to rocket fire into southern Israel from Gaza a day earlier and also targeted weapons-making factories in the Palestinian enclave controlled by the radical Islamic group Hamas.
The Israeli attacks came a day after Hamas and other militants in the Gaza Strip said they were going to stop firing rockets into Israel to avoid a possible military backlash.
According to the Israeli army, more than 750 rockets and mortars launched by Palestinians have landed in Israel's southern territories since the start of the year. More than one third of the projectiles were reportedly launched in response to Israel's three-week Cast Lead Operation, held in Gaza in December and January.
The Gaza Strip has been the subject of an almost continuous Israeli blockade since Hamas took control of the enclave in the summer of 2007, and the Israeli air and ground offensive at the turn of the year killed some 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians.
GAZA CITY, November 22 (RIA Novosti)
