TEL AVIV/GAZA CITY: Israel launched strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza on Monday hours after a rocket from the Palestinian enclave hit a house near Tel Aviv and wounded seven people, leading to fears of a severe escalation.
Israel began its retaliatory strikes around the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump in Washington.
The flare-up comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel, which holds elections on April 9.
A security source in Gaza said there had so far been at least six strikes, including five in and around Gaza City and one in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis.
There were so far no reports of any casualties in Gaza.
Earlier Monday, a rocket from Gaza hit a house in Israel in a rare long-distance strike.
Israel’s army said the rocket was fired from the Rafah area.
A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied the group was behind the rocket, evoking the possibility it was caused by “bad weather”.
The official said the same message had been passed to Egypt, which has acted as mediator between Israel and Hamas.
But Israel warned of a firm response and announced it was sending two additional brigades to reinforce the Gaza area and carrying out a limited call up of reservists.
Israeli roads near the Gaza Strip were closed and farming activities in the area were halted.
Israel also closed its people and goods crossings with the blockaded Gaza Strip and reduced the zone in the Mediterranean it allows for Palestinian fishermen off the enclave, a statement said.
The house hit was located in the community of Mishmeret, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Tel Aviv, police said.
The rocket would have had to travel some 120 kilometres from Rafah to reach the area.
Rocket fire from Gaza at that distance is rare.
The hospital treating the wounded said seven Israelis were injured lightly by burns and shrapnel, including three children.
One of the wounded was a six-month-old child and six of them were members of the same British-Israeli family.
The house was destroyed in the wake of the rocket and subsequent fire, with burnt wood, a children’s toy and other debris piled at the site.
Police spokesman Ami Ben David said air raid sirens wailed at around 5:15 am and the home’s residents made their way to a safe room, possibly saving their lives.
The rocket crashed through the roof and then exploded when it hit the floor, he said.
“I woke up hearing the sound of the explosion,” said neighbour Yuval Katz Lass, 18. “People were shocked and panicked.”
Hamas and its ally in Gaza threatened to respond to Israeli “aggression.” The flare-up comes after mounting tensions in recent weeks.
Monday’s incident follows another rare one on March 14 in which two rockets were fired from Gaza towards Tel Aviv. No damage or injuries were caused, but Israel responded to that and further rocket fire by hitting what it said were around 100 Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip.
Four Palestinians were reported wounded in those strikes. — Agencies
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