A barrage of around 30 rockets hit the Israeli town of Sderot and surrounding areas in the south of the country on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip – namely the Islamic Jihad group – have claimed responsibility.

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu quickly ordered Israeli forces to respond: “At this moment the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is strongly responding to the firing over citizens of Israel by the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. If peace is broken in the south, Gaza will suffer a great noise.”

In the Gaza town of Khan Younis the Palestinians buried three militants killed on Tuesday by Israeli aircraft fire following what Israel said was a mortar attack on their forces.

The upsurge in violence comes after relations between the two sides have been relatively quiet.