Israel fires on Gaza after rocket attack Israel said its Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted five rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, prompting it to retaliate overnight by attacking missile-launching and other sites in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave. The incident comes amid a recent escalation of tensions between the Israeli military and Gaza, after several incidents in which militants fired rockets into southern Israel, mostly landing in unpopulated areas, but causing its military to strike back. Israel said on Thursday that its air force targeted a "terror site," an underground rocket launcher, a weapon storage facility, and a weapon production facility, all in the northern Gaza Strip in response to Wednesday's rocket launches. Local Palestinian sources reported that overnight militants fired eight rockets from north Gaza towards Israel, two of which fell short. They said that Israeli forces conducted four air strikes targeted on areas in the Al-Tiufah and Al-Zeitoun neighbourhoods plus two military training sites in Gaza City and elsewhere in the Gaza Strip. Five injuries were reported. For cost reasons, Israel only deploys Iron Dome when rockets are fired into populated areas where they are likely to cause casualties. Five such interceptions reported at once are a rarity, outside of a war. The Israel Defence Force posted video footage of one such interception over the southern city of Ashkelon, showing a flash in the night sky as sirens sounded. "Gaza, under Hamas rule, has turned into a hub of rocket terrorism jeopardising innocent Israelis in the south of Israel," a spokesman for the IDF forces said. Israel has fought two wars with Hamas in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 and Operation Pillar of Defence in November 2012. Operation Pillar of Defence ended with a ceasefire brokered by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood government, which was overthrown in 2013. Incidents of rocket fire and retaliation by Israel's military have risen in recent weeks. The IDF did not say who it thought was behind Wednesday's attacks. Israel's policy is to hold Hamas responsible for attacks from Gaza, where Islamic Jihad and other militant groups are also active. Isra Almodallal, a spokeswoman for Hamas, wrote on her Facebook page: "The Israeli occupation is responsible for any military escalation, and as long as Israel continues to impose a blockade on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian people have all the right to defend and to protect themselves."