JERUSALEM, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday morning after rockets were launched from the besieged Palestinian enclave, with one hitting a home in southern Israel.
"At this time IDF (Israel Defense Forces) fighter jets started attacking terror targets in the Gaza Strip," a military spokesperson said in a statement just before 7 a.m. local time (0400 a.m. GMT).
At least three people were injured in the strikes on Gaza, according to local media.
Earlier, a rocket fired by militants from Gaza struck a residential home in the city of Beer Sheva in southern Israel, a police spokesman told Xinhua.
A spokesman for Magen David Adom medical emergency service said a mother and her three children whose home was struck were being treated for shock and two other people were injured during a panic to seek cover when the projectile triggered sirens across the city.
Later, another rocket fell short in the sea across the shore of central Israel, causing no damage or injuries, according to the police.
The municipality of Beer Sheva said that in the wake of the strike, all of the city's schools and kindergartens would remain closed Wednesday.
The rocket attack was one of the first in months and came amidst renewed tensions between Israel and Hamas.
The fire came less than a day after Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his country should deliver a "serious blow" to Gaza Strip's Hamas.
