JERUSALEM/GAZA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said on Thursday that it struck Hamas' sites overnight in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave that forced the evacuation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a campaign event.
"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) fighter jets and attack helicopters struck a number of Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip," a military spokesperson said in a statement.
The overnight attack targeted military compounds and other sites, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said Israeli war jets also hit targets belonging to other minor militant groups in southern and western Gaza.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Netanyahu was rushed off stage into a bomb shelter during a campaign rally in the southern city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, a day before a crucial leadership primary in his Likud party.
The rocket was intercepted by Israel's anti-rocket Iron Dome system, causing no injuries or damage.
No group has assumed responsibility for the rocket attack.
However, the Israeli military said it holds Hamas, ruler of Hamas, "responsible for events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it, " warning that "Hamas will bear the consequences for actions against Israeli civilians."
In September, Netanyahu was rushed off the stage at a conference in the southern city of Ashdod when a rocket from Gaza triggered sirens in the city.
Israeli media widely referred to the incident as one of the triggers for the Israeli "Black Belt" military operation in November, during which a senior Islamic Jihad commander, Baha Abu al-Atta, was killed in Gaza.
Al-Atta's killing sparked two-day fights that claimed the lives of at least 34 Palestinians in Gaza.
