GAZA: At least 10 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, including a top commander of a Palestinian militant group, BBC reports.

Local health officials said a young girl was among the dead with dozens of others wounded.

Israel’s PM said the operation followed “an immediate threat” by Palestinian Islamic Jihad after the arrest of one of its members early this week.

The PIJ fired more than 100 rockets into Israel “in an initial response”, according to the report.

Most were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence shield. Sirens were heard in a number of Israeli cities.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it then resumed strikes late on Friday, targeting militant positions.

In a televised address earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said “Israel carried out a precise counter-terror operation against an immediate threat”.

The IDF said it struck sites linked to the PIJ. They include the high-rise Palestine Tower in Gaza City, hit in a loud explosion which left smoke pouring from the building.

(Inputs from BBC)