Fighter jets bomb militants to death after ’25 mortars fired from Gaza’ to Isreali primary school

The attack comes after Israel said several dozen shells were fired into its territory on Tuesday – one exploding near a school.

Israeli jets have bombed militant positions in the Gaza Strip after the country’s army said 25 mortar shells were fired into its territory.

“Most of the launches were intercepted by the IDF’s (Israel Defence Forces) Iron Dome aerial defence system,” said an Israeli military spokesman.

He added that one shell had exploded near a preschool before the children had started for the day.

Sirens sounded at villages and towns near the border as the shells came in, but there were no reports of injuries.

The mortar attack appears to be the largest from Gaza since the 2014 war.

After the barrage, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel will exact a heavy price from those who seek to harm it and we see Hamas as responsible for preventing such attacks.”

Locals said Israeli jets later retaliated by striking positions belonging to Gaza’s Islamic Jihad group, believed to be behind the mortar barrage.

Israel’s military confirmed that explosions and smoke near the town of Deir al-Balah were related to its actions, and security officials said the site was a training site for militants.

The incident comes after a number of Palestinians were killed over the last two days – including three from Islamic Jihad.

On Monday, a tank fired at a Hamas position in Gaza, with the Palestinian Health Authority saying one man had died and another was injured.

Israel said it had retaliated after its troops came under fire while apprehending two armed Palestinians trying to get across the border with the “intention of carrying out an attack”.

A day earlier, three Islamic Jihad militants were killed when Israeli tanks shelled one of its observation points – with the group promising to hit back.

Israel said it had fired the shells after an explosive device was placed on the border fence.

It all comes just two weeks after 61 Palestinians were killed during violent protests at the border on the same day the US went ahead with its controversial decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israel was strongly condemned by many countries for the deaths but insists it is defending its communities and that Hamas is trying to use protest as a cover for attacks.

Demonstrations along the border have continued at a lower level since then, and at least 116 Palestinians are said to have died since the unrest began on 30 March.

A boat carrying students and sick and injured people also left Gaza City’s port on Tuesday in the latest protest.

It is aiming to symbolically break Israel’s sea blockade, which limits boats to six nautical miles from shore.

Those on board are reported to be needing treatment or wanting to study abroad.

Tight controls on Gaza’s sea and land borders and the movement of its two million population have brought its economy to near collapse.

Some 80% of the enclave’s population rely on international humanitarian aid to survive and 96% of the water there is undrinkable, according to Oxfam.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, is due to make a statement on the situation in Gaza later today.