A 23-year-old Palestinian militant was killed and two others wounded in separate Israeli artillery and air strikes on the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials said on Thursday.
The first strike targeted a group of militants preparing to fire at an Israeli patrol with a grenade launcher, while the second strike hit a militant who was about “to launch a rocket at the Israeli territory.”
Earlier this week, Israeli planes attacked two facilities in Gaza allegedly used by Hamas militants in response to rocket fire opened by Palestinians at the Israeli settlement of Yad Mordechai. No casualties have been reported in the attacks.
The Israeli military reiterated on Thursday that Israel "will not tolerate any attempt by terrorist groups to target Israeli civilians and soldiers."
There have been sporadic flare-ups of violence between the two sides since a major Israeli offensive in Gaza in 2009 despite occasional ceasefire announcements.