Israel pounds Gaza after rocket fire

Israeli warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip yesterday after the first rocket fire from the Palestinian territory in weeks hit an Israeli city, in a blow to efforts to avert a new war.

Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas disavowed the rocket fire saying they rejected "all irresponsible attempts" to undermine Egyptian efforts to broker a new long-term truce.

But Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from the territory regardless of who launches it, struck 20 targets in Gaza, killing one Palestinian, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

At least three other Palestinians were wounded in the strikes, it added.

Israel also closed both its border crossings with Gaza in reprisal, further isolating the blockaded enclave where deteriorating living conditions have stoked violent protests along the border.

A Gaza security official inspects the scene of an Israeli air strike.

Israel also ordered the reduction of the permitted fishing zone off the Gaza coast to three nautical miles.

Gaza militants fired two rockets before dawn, one of which caused major damage to a family home in the southern city of Beersheba, 40 kilometres away, the Israeli army said.

The family of three children escaped injury after their mother moved them into the safe room, with much of the rest of the house destroyed, the army said.

The other rocket came down in the sea off Tel Aviv, 70 kilometres from Gaza, the army said.

Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2008 and fears of a fourth have spurred efforts by Egypt and the United Nations for a wider deal that would see Israel ease its blockade in exchange for a long-term truce with the Islamists.

Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on Rafah.

Photos: Reuters, AFP