Israeli occupation forces launched several airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, hours after Palestinian and Israeli shelling across the border of the besieged enclave.

Israeli occupation forces launched several airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, hours after Palestinian and Israeli shelling across the border of the besieged enclave.

At least five airstrikes targeted an open area near the long-closed Rafah airport, causing material damage. No casualties were initially reported.

Earlier during the day, Israeli tanks stationed along the Gaza border shelled two watchtowers.

Shells fell on the Shujayya neighborhood of Gaza City in the eastern Gaza Strip, destroying a watchtower.

Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,  the armed wing of the resistance movement of Hamas, issued a statement following the airstrikes, condemning the Zionist  military incursion inside the Gaza Strip.

“The enemy should not invoke any reason whatsoever for its actions and leave the Gaza Strip immediately,” the statement read, adding that the airstrikes marked a breach of the ceasefire after the devastating Israeli offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory in 2014.