Gaza City  - Israeli aircraft bombed two targets in southern Gaza, shortly after Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Israel for the first time since the start of a ceasefire on January 18, witnesses said early Thursday.

Israeli F-16s struck around midnight Wednesday near Gaza's Rafah border with Egypt. No injuries were reported.

One bomb struck the border area, where hundreds of tunnels are used for smuggling supplies and arms into Gaza, with a second airstrike against a Palestinian metal workshop.

The Israeli airstrikes came after Gaza militants fired a homemade rocket late Wednesday from the central Gaza Strip toward southern Israel. Israeli Radio reported that the rocket hit an empty area, causing no damage or injuries.

The rocket attack is the first since Israel had declared a unilateral ceasefire following its 22-day military assault on the Gaza Strip. Gaza militants followed with their own ceasefire declaration a day later.

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were seen over other parts of the Gaza Strip, raising expectations of further Israeli retaliation for the rocket attack.

A barrage of militant rocket fire in December preceded the Israeli bombing campaign and invasion, which had the declared goal of halting such attacks on southern Israel.

The armed wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees have each claimed responsibility for earlier firing mortar shells at Israeli ground forces that rolled into the eastern part of central Gaza.

The three armed groups said in separate leaflets that they would continue attacking Israel "as long as Israel continues violating the ceasefire."

Since the end of the Israeli assault, one Israeli soldier and one Palestinian farmer were killed, and eight Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire. (dpa)