The Israeli army launched airstrikes on Gaza City and two towns in the northern Gaza Strip on late Thursday night, wounding three Palestinians, witnesses said.

Israeli warplanes fired at least two missiles at a house in al- Shaaf neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, said the witnesses, adding that no casualties were caused.

The Israeli army said that the house was believed to be a weapons storage.

Shortly afterward, Israeli aircraft pounded two houses in the northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun respectively.

Two Palestinians were wounded in the raid on Beit Lahiya, one of them in serious condition, while a third Palestinian was injured in the strike on Beit Hanoun.

Earlier in the day, three Palestinians including a 75-year-old woman were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israel pressed ahead a weeks-long massive air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in a bid to free an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants and halt Palestinian rocket fire.

Over 160 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in the violence.

Source: Xinhua