Israel launches heavy overnight strikes on Gaza

Israel launched sustained airstrikes on several Hamas positions in the northern Gaza Strip, early Thursday morning, The New Arab's correspondent reported.

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday it had launched overnight air raids on a Hamas facility in Gaza, after gunfire from the enclave targeted its soldiers and damaged a building in the Israeli town of Sderot.

"The Israeli army struck targets belonging to Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, including terrorist infrastructure and weapons-making facilities," the military said in a statement.

Palestinian sources confirmed that strikes targeted positions belonging to Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, in Gaza city, during which one Palestinian was injured.

The planes then reportedly targeted a ship west of Gaza city also said to belong to the al-Qassam Brigades.

Local media reported that Palestinian anti-aircraft defences repelled Israeli planes but these have not been verified.

On Wednesday, Israeli tanks fired at three Hamas positions after shots from Gaza were fired at Israeli soldiers and bullets from a heavy machine gun hit a house in the nearby Israeli town of Sderot.

The exchanges of fire came after the killing of over 100 Palestinian protesters by Israeli soldiers, as they staged mass demonstrations along Gaza's border for over six weeks.

The bloodshed peaked on Monday - following Palestinian anger over the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem - with 61 unarmed Palestanians killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.