Israel Launches Air Raid on Gaza Rocket Launch Site

An Israeli air strike destroyed a rocket launch site in Gaza late Friday, the army said, as an official in the Palestinian territory reported no casualties.

"An Israeli air force aircraft destroyed a rocket launch site in Gaza to eliminate an imminent threat against Israel," an army spokesman said in a statement.

A health ministry official from the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, told Agence France Presse the raid struck near Beit Lahiya in the north of the territory, without causing casualties.

Tensions have risen in and around Gaza after a year of relative calm.

An increase in Israeli raids and Palestinian rocket attacks as well as border incidents in past weeks raise the possibility of a major new confrontation between Israel and Hamas.