GAZA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli war jets on Tuesday carried out a series of intensive airstrikes on military posts and facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) in the Gaza Strip, causing no injuries, security officials said.
The security officials said that Israeli war planes and drones hovered over the Gaza Strip and started firing air-to-ground missiles on Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facilities all over the coastal enclave.
Rescue teams, firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene or the targeted posts; no casualties were recorded.
The Israeli airstrikes targeted three posts that belong to Islamic Jihad and one post that belongs to Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades.
The intensive airstrikes and escalation of military conflict between Israel and Gaza militant groups came few hours after Palestinian militants fired a barrage of mortar shells at southern Israel on Tuesday morning.
No organization immediately assumed responsibility for the incident. However, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders hailed the mortar attacks on Israel.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawood Shihab said in a short text message sent to reporters that the Islamic Jihad "is blessing today's response of the armed resistance which defends our people and faces the terrorist occupation."
Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhoum said in an emailed press statement that "what the armed Palestinian resistance has done today morning came as part of the natural right of defending our people."
"The attacks are a response to the crimes of Israeli killing and the operations of targeting and assassinating our fighters in Rafah and in northern Gaza Strip in the past two days. The Israeli occupation is bearing full responsibility for any upcoming escalation," said Barhoum.
