Palestine: Two Israeli air strikes hit Gaza City

The Israeli airforce has confirmed that it dropped two bombs on Gaza City Thursday morning, claiming that two shells had landed in the desert in southern Israel fired from somewhere inside Gaza.

According to local sources, the airstrikes hit a beachfront facility used by the armed wing of the Hamas party, and a training camp used by the same group.

The missiles were fired by US-made F16 fighter jets, which roared over the crowded neighborhoods of Gaza City in the early hours of Thursday morning, causing residents to duck for cover.

The planes then dropped their payload on the deserted training grounds, causing no injuries but destroying the facilities.

After homemade shells fired from Gaza injured an Israeli on Tuesday, the Israeli military issued a statement saying the army "holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip."

According to the Israeli military, the two shells fired Thursday night into Israel reached further than previous homemade shells - one of them hit the ground near the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Shells fired by Palestinian fighters from the Gaza are fired blind, since they have no aiming capabilities. The crude homemade shells have been termed by some Gazans as 'glorified firecrackers', as they are basically metal pipes shot over the border with Israel with no explosive capabilities.