JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday pledged a forceful response to a barrage of nearly 30 mortar shells fired from Gaza at southern Israeli communities earlier in the day.
"Israel takes a grave view of the attacks on it and its communities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will respond to these attacks powerfully," he said during a conference in northern Israel, referring to the Israel.
Israeli aircraft struck a position belonging to the Islamic Jihad militant group.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined comment on the report.
Earlier, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a "barrage of projectiles" at southern Israel, the army said, as tensions in the border area simmered.
Some of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defence system, the army said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the Israeli communities.
On Monday, a Palestinian who approached the border fence with what the Israeli army said an "intention of carrying out an attack" was killed by tank fire.
A day earlier, a tank targeted an Islamic Jihad observation point in response to an explosive device being placed on the border fence.
Three members of the militant group were killed, and Israeli media said the Tuesday projectiles were Islamic Jihad's response to the attack.
At least 121 Palestinians have been killed during weeks of unrest since March 30, when Palestinians began calling to be allowed to return to their historic homelands inside Israel.
The majority were killed during protests along the border, including at least 61 on May 14.
Others have been killed in air strikes.
Israel says it is merely defending its borders and accuses Hamas of encouraging thousands of Palestinians to break through the border and attack Israelis.
Also on Tuesday, a group of activist Palestinians were due to set sail to breach Israel's naval blockade by boat.
The destination of the boat, carrying patients needing medical care, students and job-seeking university graduates, was not announced.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade, with Israel saying it is necessary to prevent the Palestinian enclaves' militant Hamas rulers from obtaining means to attack the Jewish state.
