Israeli airstrikes were launched early this morning in the Gaza Strip, after rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave, without any casualties, an AFP journalist found.

Shortly after 06:00 (local and Greek time), thick smoke was rising from a site that was hit north of Gaza City.

In a statement released to the press a few minutes later, the Israeli military confirmed that it had launched “strikes in the Gaza Strip.”

Earlier, eyewitnesses stated that at least eight rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave. For its part, the Israeli army spoke of six rocket launches, adding that five were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, while the sixth landed in an uninhabited area.

The new hostilities follow a raid yesterday Wednesday by the Israeli army in Nablus (West Bank), during which 11 Palestinians died, including a 16-year-old, and at least 80 others were wounded by bullets.

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed 60 Palestinians (members of armed organizations and civilians, including minors), 10 Israelis (9 civilians, including three minors, and a police officer), as well as a Ukrainian woman, according to the count of AFP based on announcements from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.