GAZA CITY, Dec 28: Israeli artillery batteries bombarded the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a deadline expired for Palestinians to evacuate a new security zone which is intended to stop rocket attacks.

Israeli warplanes also targeted Palestinian militants near Beirut in response to a series of rocket attacks against a town in northern Israel from across the border with Lebanon.

While there were no reported casualties in Gaza, at least two members of the PFLP-GC, a small pro-Syrian faction, were wounded in the air strike to the south of Lebanon’s capital.

Israel’s unilateral decision to impose a ‘no-go zone’ in the far north of the Gaza Strip comes as part of a concerted drive to thwart repeated rocket attacks launched from northern Gaza into southern Israel.

An army spokeswoman confirmed troops had opened fire in open fields in the ‘no-go zone’ after a missile was fired from the area shortly before the 1600 GMT deadline came into effect.

“It’s in direct response to that,” said the spokeswoman, describing the artillery fire as ‘slightly larger scale’ than previous bouts of firing.

The Israeli military earlier airdropped leaflets over Gaza, written in Arabic with an accompanying map indicating the extent of the zone, warning Palestinians to keep out of the area or else endanger their lives.

The confines of the security zone mainly incorporate an uninhabited area where three Jewish settlements stood, before Israel withdrew all soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip in September after a 38-year occupation.

“The army is prepared to wage intensive operations in the north of the Gaza Strip against terrorist elements who fire rockets into the territory of the state of Israel,” the fliers warned.

“For your security you are warned to avoid the sectors indicated on the map from Dec 28 until further notice. Those who disregard this warning will put their lives in danger,” they added.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Israel had no right to reassert control over any part of the territory, while also condemning the rocket strikes.—AFP