Israel launches air strikes on Gaza

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JERUSALEM, Dec 9 (Reuters): Israel launched retaliatory air strikes on the Gaza Strip Thursday hours after its top soldier warned troops to be prepared for possible "wider action" on the enclave's volatile border.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the strikes were aimed at three separate targets, two of which Gaza militants confirmed were sites they used for training. No casualties were reported.
The air strikes were launched overnight after a mortar fired by Gaza militants wounded an Israeli man at a farm.
"The situation on the Gaza Strip border is fragile these days," Israeli armed forces chief General Gaby Ashekenazi told troops based near the Gaza border, according to the Maariv daily.
Ashekenazi cited a large number of explosive devices on the border and rising activity against Israel at the northern edge of Gaza, predicting more incidents.
Israel usually responds to the attacks with tank fire or air strikes against militant targets or the tunnels they use to smuggle goods and arms into the territory from Egypt.
Thursday, Israeli missiles hit a training field of the Hamas armed wing, causing damage to several nearby houses and a primary school of 700 students, witnesses said.