Rockets from Gaza follow Israeli air strikes

Jerusalem - Israeli officials say the army will carry out more air raids on the Gaza Strip overnight and call up 1,500 military reservists, as the country moves closer to its third major offensive in the Palestinian territory in six years.

Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli army, posted a tweet late on Monday saying that the military had launched "Operation Protective Edge" and would be targeting the Palestinian faction Hamas.

Israeli air strikes on Syria 'unacceptable': Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the Israeli air raids on Syria were "unacceptable."

"No excuse can justify this operation," Erdogan told ruling party lawmakers in parliament after Israel's weekend strikes on the war-torn country sent regional tensions soaring.

Israeli air raids killed at least 42 soldiers, according to monitoring groups, fuelling international concern over a spillover of the conflict, as Damascus warned it would strike back.

Islamic Jihad targeted by Israel

GAZA CITY: Israel’s air force carried out three strikes early yesterday in the Gaza Strip, targeting radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad but causing no casualties, witnesses said.

Two airstrikes hit the southern town of Khan Yunis, targeting positions of the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

The third was near the southern town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, said the Palestinian witnesses. An Israeli Army spokeswoman confirmed the air force had carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip but told AFP she could not give further details.

Former Iranian president softens stance toward Israel, says 2 countries not at war

Iran's influential former president has expressed a softer stance toward the country's archenemy Israel in sharp contrast to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad' typical anti-Israel remarks.

Several Iranian newspapers, including the pro-reform Shargh daily, on Monday quoted Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying: "We are not at war with Israel."