Ammon News - Two Palestinians were killed this morning and many others were injured, some seriously, in an Israeli shelling east of Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, following an exchange of gunfire between factions in the Gaza Strip and Israeli occupation forces as life came to a standstill in the besieged sea enclave.

The tension started this morning following the surprise firing of a barrage of rockets from Gaza into several Israeli towns and cities along the coast, causing damage and possibly injuries.

Reports said the rockets, some of which were intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome, reached as far as Tel Aviv.

At the same time, reports said armed men breached the border fence between Gaza and Israel and engaged Israeli soldiers.

Expecting fierce Israeli reprisal, all sorts of activities, including schools and universities as well as businesses in the Gaza Strip, stopped and people stayed home.

The Israeli prime minister convened his security cabinet for an urgent meeting as Israel raised the alert to the highest level, which is equivalent to war.

WAFA