Israeli army confirms airstrikes on Gaza

JERUSALEM, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed early Wednesday morning that the country's Air Force launched air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, following a Palestinian rocket and mortar attack on southern Israel earlier in the day.

The air raid is the first of its kind since Israel staged a large-scale military operation on the Gaza Strip in November last year, which ended with a truce between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement which rules the coastal enclave.

A spokeswoman of the IDF confirmed to Xinhua that strike sorties had been carried out overnight. She declined to provide further details about the aerial retaliatory move.

According to Palestinian sources, Israeli F-16 jets hit open spaces in eastern Gaza City and northern Gaza Strip shortly before midnight. Local residents said huge sounds of explosions that shook their houses were heard, and there has been no report of damage or casualties.

On Tuesday afternoon, a rocket launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel. No one was hurt and no damage caused.

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