The Israeli army fired artillery shells at a Hamas post in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night after a rocket fired from the besieged enclave hit southern Israel.

"An IDF (Israel Defense Forces) tank targeted a Hamas military post in the southern Gaza Strip," an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.

The attack came in retaliation for an earlier rocket fire from Gaza, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the sources in Gaza told Xinhua that the Israeli tanks shelled several militant lookout posts close to the border with Israel.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from both sides.

The heightened tension between Israel and the Gaza Strip came after a Palestinian prisoner from Gaza, who spent 28 years in Israeli jails, died earlier in the day in his cell over medical negligence, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

Earlier this week, the Israeli government announced the beginning of construction of a new barrier to separate the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel "will not hesitate" to use force against the Gaza Strip if the protest near the fence continues.

Last March, Palestinians in Gaza launched the Great March of Return rally, with tens of thousands of Palestinians protesting near the border fence between Gaza and Israel every week.

Israel accuses Hamas of orchestrating the anti-Israel rally, while Palestinians say the rally aims to fight the crippling blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza since 2007. 

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