Palestinians at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the border between Rafah and Egypt, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, 22 Oct. 2009Israeli warplanes hit several targets in the Gaza Strip early Thursday after Gaza militants fired a rocket into southern Israel. No casualties were reported in the incidents.

Israel's military says its aircraft attacked what it called an arms factory in Gaza City and two smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza used to bring in weapons from Egypt. It says the strikes were in response to the firing of a rocket that fell on open ground in southern Israel late Wednesday.

Rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli counter-strikes have continued sporadically since Israel ended a 22-day offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in January. The Israeli military says at least 250 rockets and mortars have hit southern Israel since then.

Reuters quotes a member of Hamas' military wing in Gaza as saying he does not expect the calm in the region to last long. Abu Ubaida says Israel, as he puts it, is continuing its "occupation" of Palestinian land and its "unjust blockade" of Gaza.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.