Thirteen Israeli air strikes hit Gaza Strip
Israeli warplanes have carried out at least 13 air strikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources have told the BBC.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Four of the strikes took place near the town of Khan Younis, where two Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Palestinian fighters last week.
The Israeli strikes are the most serious for more than a year, says the BBC's Jon Donnison from Jerusalem.
'Retaliation'
Palestinian news agencies reported that Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over parts of Gaza on Thursday warning residents of retaliation for last Friday's killings of the soldiers in Khan Younis.
They were the first Israeli soldiers to be killed in hostile fire in Gaza in over a year. The military wing of Hamas claim responsibility for those attacks.
Hamas said police stations and training facilities were among the targets of Israel's overnight raids.
Tensions in the region are running high after a recent Israeli government announcement of plans to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish people in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as a capital of a future state.
Militants in the Gaza Strip have recently stepped up rocket fire directed at Israel.
On Wednesday, they fired a rocket into an empty field in southern Israel, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, military sources said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8600285.stm