GAZA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced on Monday that its militants have unilaterally ceased fire with Israel following two days of tension in the Gaza Strip.
The group said in a short press statement that "Saraya al-Quds announces that it finished its military response to the crimes of killing one of our militants in eastern Gaza and two others in Syria."
"We promise our people and our nations that our Jihad (Holy War) will go on and will respond to any violation of the occupation (Israel) against our lands and our people," said the statement.
Although the group had unilaterally announced that it stopped its retaliation to the killing of three of its militants in Gaza and Syria, Israeli warplanes continued striking the group's posts and positions.
Israeli media quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying that Israeli Air Forces struck on Monday evening several military posts in response to rockets and mortar firing into Israel.
Local radio stations reported that at least one Palestinian militant was seriously injured after an Israeli missile hit him while driving his motorbike in eastern Gaza city, adding that he was taken to Shifa Hospital in the city.
Tension in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave began early on Sunday when Israeli soldiers stationed on the borders between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel shot and killed a militant member in the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The scenes of pulling the body of the Islamic Jihad militant Mohammad Naem by an Israeli army bulldozer had sparked large outrage among the Palestinians.
In response, Saraya al-Quds fired barrages of rockets later on Sunday into southern Israel. Israeli war jets had in return struck with missiles military posts and locations that belong to the group.
Security sources in Gaza said that four Islamic Jihad militants were injured by the shrapnel of an Israeli missile while they were trying to launch rockets from eastern Gaza City into southern Israel on Sunday night.
Medics said that two more Palestinian pedestrians were injured in southern Gaza Strip when Israeli war jets struck with missiles a post that belongs to Islamic Jihad near the town of Rafah.
While Israeli war jets were striking Islamic Jihad posts in the Gaza Strip, other jets attacked a military base that belongs to the group south of Damascus in Syria. Six were killed, and two of them were members of the group.
On Monday, the group's militants fired more barrages of rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.
Israeli media reported that dozens of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip were intercepted by the Israeli defense system. Damage was caused to houses and cars in several towns in southern Israel.
Israeli war jets struck on Monday afternoon more sites and locations in the Gaza Strip that belong to the group, according to Palestinian security sources, which added that no injuries were reported.
