JERUSALEM - Israeli tanks and warplanes bombed Hamas positions in Gaza on Friday and the group retaliated with rockets as a three-week flareup showed no sign of ending despite international mediation efforts.
Warning sirens sounded before dawn in Israeli communities near Gaza's buffer zone as the pre-dawn air attacks and shelling prompted Hamas to launch a salvo of six rockets in retaliation.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage on either side.
Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, said the rockets were a "direct response to the escalation by the Israeli occupier".
Bassem Naim, a Hamas official, warned of further escalation saying the "catastrophic conditions the Gaza Strip is experiencing are unprecedented". He said the situation could lead to an "explosion in which things get out of control".
Israel launched a new wave of raids in reprisal targeting "additional Hamas military targets" in Gaza, including a "weapons manufacturing site", the military said.
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli warplanes struck a position and observation point belonging to the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Gaza and Rafah. (Aljazeera)