Israel has carried out at least 13 airstrikes...

Several of the strikes reportedly took place in Gaza, with the rest hitting the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, the BBC said.

Four of the air strikes took place near the central town of Khan Younis, near the site of last week"s clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants, in which two Israelis and two Palestinians died.

Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel have become more frequent lately, following Israel"s announcement of new settlement construction plans in the Palestinian territories. The plans stipulate the building of 1,600 new homes for Jewish families in East Jerusalem.

The Gaza Strip has been the subject of an almost continuous Israeli blockade since the radical Islamic group Hamas took control of the enclave in the summer of 2007, ousting President Mahmoud Abbas"s Fatah movement in a bloody five-day war.

MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti)