The Israeli military has confirmed the air strike on the southern Gaza where Palestinian militants earlier fired at least six rockets on Israeli territory.
Palestinian rocket attacks and retaliatory Israeli air strikes over the past month have broken a five-month truce brokered by Egypt in June and led to the resumption of an Israeli blockade of the border with Gaza, cutting the supplies of essential goods to some 750,000 Gaza residents.
At least 17 Palestinian militants have been killed since the escalation of violence on November 4, when Israeli troops went into the enclave to destroy a tunnel which Israel claimed had been dug as part of planned operations to abduct its soldiers.
According to the Israeli military, over 180 rockets and mortar shells have been fired by Palestinian militants on adjacent Israeli territory since the conflict escalated in early November.
In response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, Israel closed Gaza border crossings, blocking badly needed supplies and fuel entering the impoverished enclave.
