Smoke and flames are seen following what witnesses said were Israeli air strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 9, 2014
Israeli navy commandos launched a ground operation overnight in the north of the Gaza Strip, the first since the offensive against Hamas began, Israeli public radio said early Sunday.
The brief incursion targeted a rocket launcher site, it said. The armed branch of Hamas confirmed that Israeli commandos had exchanged gunfire with some Palestinian fighters.
A military spokesman later said four Israeli soldiers had been lightly wounded during the operation.