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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has called for reoccupying the Gaza Strip after a salvo of rockets hit Israel on Wednesday.

"Following an attack like this – a barrage of more than 50 rockets – there is no alternative to a full reoccupation of the entire Gaza Strip," Lieberman told Israel's Channel 2.

He said Israel would not ignore rocket fire from Gaza.

The call came shortly after the Saraya al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, claimed responsibility for dozens of rockets fired into Israel earlier on Wednesday.

Israeli war planes struck 29 targets in several areas in the Palestinian territory, Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported.

Israeli artillery also hit two targets in the seaside enclave.

The raids came shortly after Islamic Jihad movement fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel in response to the killing of three members in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the attack and vowed "response".

Hamas blames Israel for Gaza escalation
Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Wednesday blamed Israel for the "security deterioration" in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoumi said Israel is responsible "for the deteriorating situation through its violations, killings and assassinations".

He warned Israel against committing any hostilities against the Palestinians and called on Palestinian resistance factions to deal with the situation "wisely".

The Hamas spokesman went on to call on the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation "to immediately intervene" to halt any Israeli aggression.

The escalation came one day after three Islamic Jihad members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Islamic Jihad says truce with Israel still intact
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group on Wednesday denied that it had called off an earlier truce with Israel in response to the Tuesday murder of three of its members in an Israeli airstrike.

"My group has not issued any statements announcing the collapse of the truce with Israel," Khedr Habib, a senior group leader, told Anadolu Agency.

He nevertheless went on to warn Israel against its repeated aggression against the Gaza Strip, saying such aggression served to endanger the truce.

"Commitment to the truce on the part of Palestinian factions must be met by Israeli's commitment," Khedr said.

He added that the truce was prone to collapse at any moment due to Israel's ongoing aggressions.

*World Bulletin