Hours after an IAF strike in the northern Gaza Strip killed three members of a terrorist cell, Palestinians fired several Kassam rockets into southern Israel on Saturday morning. The rockets struck open areas in the Eshkol region, causing no casualties.
Also Saturday, Islamic Jihad vowed to revenge for the previous day's air strikes.
On Friday evening Israeli planes intercepted a vehicle which was transporting rockets to be fired into the country. In a statement released directly after the strike, the IDF said that the terrorists had exited the vehicle and were unloading weapons when the IAF fired missiles at them.
The IDF added that the three had been involved in launching rockets into Israel in recent weeks.
Reuters quoted the Islamic Jihad as saying that the men, operatives from the terrorist group, were killed near the Jabalya refugee camp.
Palestinians reported that there were six Islamic Jihad operatives traveling in the car, of which three were killed, and three were seriously wounded.
Since Operation Cast Lead, the IDF has responded to sporadic Palestinian rocket fire by destroying smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Palestinians have fired about 300 rockets and mortars into Israel since the end of the campaign, the IDF said.
AP contributed to this report
