Israeli F16 warplanes struck on Wednesday night several targets in northern and southern Gaza Strip in response to earlier Palestinian militants' rockets' firing at southern Israel, witnesses said.

The witnesses said the Israeli warplanes hovered over the Gaza Strip and fired several missiles at empty and open areas in northern Gaza Strip, adding that no injuries were reported.

The warplanes returned and struck a factory that produces medicine in the area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, causing severe damages and fire in the factory.

The warplanes had also struck the area of the smuggling tunnels in the town of Rafah between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The Israeli airstrikes came hours after Palestinian militants fired ten mortar shells and two homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. No injuries or damages were caused.

On Wednesday afternoon, Israeli warplanes struck a smuggling tunnel beneath the borderline between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, killing one person and wounding two others.

Israel had earlier warned Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, that a large-scale military offensive would be carried out against the Gaza Strip in case rockets attacks on Israel increase.

In the last couple of weeks, Israel said the number of rocket attacks on southern Israel had increased. The increasing attacks coincided with the start of the U.S. sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.