Summary
Israel's military killed a commander of Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in a strike on his home Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, prompting retaliatory rocket fire and fears of a severe escalation in violence.
Israel launched airstrikes in response to barrages of retaliatory rocket fire, with the Gazan health ministry reporting four people had been killed and 25 wounded in the Palestinian enclave.
The rocket fire into Israel caused damage and a number of injuries, with at least one rocket hitting a house and another narrowly missing passing cars on a highway.
Israel had not commented on that strike.
Israel blamed Ata for recent rocket fire into its territory and said he was preparing further attacks.
Israel said Ata was behind rocket fire toward a music festival in the Israeli city of Sderot in August as well as further rocket attacks at the start of November.
Three wars have been fought between them since 2008 and Gaza has been under a strict Israeli blockade for more than a decade.
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