Israel bombs Gaza after rocket fire

Israeli air strikes hit four sites in the Gaza Strip yesterday, causing damage but no injuries, officials said, after Palestinian militants fired a rocket that struck a building in southern Israel.

The four sites included a workshop, two locations for Hamas's armed wing and a military training site for militant group Islamic Jihad, the security official said on condition of anonymity.

No group in Gaza claimed responsibility for firing the rocket, which came hours after Israel announced a lockdown on the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank and cuts in monthly tax payments to the Palestinian Authority in response to attacks.

On Friday, the Middle East diplomatic quartet said that the "lack of control of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority, and the dire humanitarian situation" were feeding "instability and ultimately impede efforts to achieve a negotiated solution".

The report also said Israeli settlement building and confiscation of land in the West Bank were among factors "steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution."