Israeli tanks fired a series of artillery shells onto the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, severely damaging several Palestinian houses and causing casualties.

Northern Gaza Strip governor Ismail Abu Shammala told reporters that several houses and a sponge factory as well as a number of farms were severely damaged in the Israeli shelling, which left some deep craters of 7-8 meters in depth and 20 meters in width.

He added that splinters of the Israeli artillery shells also hit pedestrians and people who stayed in their houses. But he did not reveal the exact number of casualties.

The Israeli army confirmed the shelling, saying that it would continue the shellings until the Palestinian militants stopped firing homemade rockets from the northern Gaza Strip at southern Israel.

Meanwhile, Saraya al-Quds, an armed wing of the Islamic Jihad ( Holy War), claimed responsibility on Monday for launching two rockets from northern Gaza at the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon.

Israel has stepped up military operations against the Palestinian militant since weekend as about 16 Palestinians, most of them militants, were killed in Israeli attacks.

Source: Xinhua