Northern Gaza was hit by a second explosion Thursday night hours after seven Palestinians were killed in a first explosion when Israel launched an airstrike in the same area, witnesses and security sources said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the second explosion, caused by continued Israeli missile fire, security sources said.

The target was an open field used by militants to launch rockets into southern Israel, security sources added.

Witnesses said militants of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) had been seen firing rockets into southern Israel in an apparent response to the earlier Israeli airstrike which killed two of its members in the same area.

Two Israeli missiles hit a white Subrau car the two militants were driving earlier on Thursday evening outside the Jabalia refugee camp, killing Jihad's field commander in northern Gaza Shadi Mohanna and his assistant Mohammed Ghazaineh and five civilians who were bystanders.

Israel has been mounting a widespread military operation in Gaza and the West Bank targeting Jihad militants involved in suicide attacks against Israelis.

Source: Xinhua