Israeli aircraft struck three times in Gaza in the early hours of Tuesday morning, hitting a weapons storage facility and two rocket launching sites used by militants, the military said in a statement. As a growing crisis in the Gaza Strip moved into a fifth day, the Israeli army said it had scored direct hits on the targets. No casualties were reported in the strikes which caused loud explosions. Israel warned that it would hit hard at Palestinian militants who launch rockets into the Jewish state. The militants indicated late on Monday that they were ready for a truce but there was no immediate response from Israel.
