Israel strikes Gaza after rare rocket attack near Tel Aviv

Israeli air strike hit buildings in western Gaza on Monday (25 March), hours after a rocket from the Palestinian enclave struck a house near Tel Aviv and injured seven people, raising fears of a serious escalation.

The retaliatory strikes were begun around the same time as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump in Washington, with explosions rocking areas of the Gaza Strip and balls of fire rising into the sky.

The filmer who was at work in a nearby building wrote: "We were standing at the window while it was happening. We knew they were about to hit because they did hit a couple warning missiles minutes ago."

There was no claim of responsibility for the early morning attack. The Israeli military said Hamas fired the rocket from about 120 km (75 miles) away, making it the longest-range attack from Gaza causing casualties since a 2014 war.

Netanyahu said he would return home after meeting Trump, cancelling an address to pro-Israel lobby AIPAC's annual conference on Tuesday.

The flare-up comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel, which holds elections on April 9.

So far there have been no reports of any casualties in Gaza.