Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a sharp warning to Hamas on Friday after an anti-tank missile from Gaza hit an Israeli school bus on Thursday.
"The attack on a school bus crossed the line. Whoever tries to hurt and murder children, his blood be on his own head," Netanyahu said at the conclusion of his meeting with the Czech President in Prague.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel will take any action necessary in the Gaza Strip after the attack on an Israeli school bus.
"We hope this situation will be contained but we will not shy away from taking all the necessary action, offensive and defensive, to protect our country and to protect our citizens," Netanyahu told a news conference during a visit to Prague.
However the prime minister did try to show constraint, saying Israel is not interested in an escalation of cross-border fighting.
Early Friday morning, Israel Air Force jets attacked targets in the northern and southern Gaza Strip.
An IDF spokesperson said that the targets in northern Gaza were buildings used for terror activities and the targets in southern Gaza were three smuggling tunnels. The spokesperson confirmed direct hits in both operations.
Palestinian rescue services said three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli tank fire in the latest surge of fighting in the Gaza Strip. It was not clear if they were militants or civilians.
The spike in violence began Thursday when Hamas launched an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus near the border, seriously wounding the driver and a 16-year-old boy. This triggered strikes by IDF planes and artillery that killed five Palestinians: three militants, one Hamas policeman and a civilian.
Hamas said that the attack on the school bus was in retaliation for an IDF air strike on Saturday that killed three Palestinian militants.
On Thursday night, Hamas announced a unilateral cease-fire to be honored by all Gaza factions following the barrage of rocket fire that hit Israel earlier in the day.