The first strike bombed a military training base near Omar Bein Al-Khatab Mosque in Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza belonging to Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Witnesses said the warplanes fired two missiles on the base that sustained serious damage. A mosque and several houses in the area were also severely damaged.

The other strike targeted Gaza’s airport in the south. Witnesses and local media sources said that the jets fired four missiles there.

Hours after the air raid, Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinians, wounding three workers. The incident happened in the northern parts of the coastal strip, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The Palestinians were collecting scrap metal when Israeli troops opened fire from their checkpoint on the border.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama’s chief of staff on Wednesday invited the Israeli prime minister to the White House next week, in a sign that strained relations between the two allies are beginning to thaw. Rahm Emanuel, who was in Israel for a private visit, extended the invitation during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.