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Israel strikes kill one in Gaza after first rockets in weeks

Jerusalem: Israel carried out retaliatory strikes on Gaza Saturday, killing one Palestinian and seriously wounding two, following two nights of rocket attacks that were the first since September, the health ministry said. Dozens of pre-dawn strikes targeted bases of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and allied militant groups, a Gaza security source said.

The Israeli army said the strikes targeted "a wide range of Hamas terror targets", including a naval base, a military compound and a weapons manufacturing plant.

The Hamas-run health ministry identified the person killed as Ahmed al-Shehri, 27.

It did not say whether he was affiliated with any armed group. The sound of explosions was heard across the tiny but densely populated territory, AFP correspondents said.

After daybreak, curious onlookers gathered around a large crater scooped out of the sandy soil by the force of one of the blasts.

A Hamas source said it had fired at the Israeli aircraft carrying out the raids and the Israeli military confirmed fresh "incoming fire".

The strikes came after at least 10 rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel late Friday causing damage but no casualties. The Israeli military said eight of the rockets were intercepted by air defences.

Air raid sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the border.

One family house was hit, without causing any casualties, the army said, posting a picture of the damage on Twitter. It was the second consecutive evening that the army reported rocket fire from Gaza, shattering a calm that had lasted since September 12.

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