Israel has begun sending troop reinforcements to its border with the Gaza Strip amid heightened tensions with the Palestinians.

Israel was struck by more than a dozen rockets on Thursday. No injuries were reported.

The Israeli military launched air strikes in response, targeting 15 sites that they said belonged to Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told euronews: “The escalation in the Gaza strip is aimed at spreading confusion and increasing the number of murders, the destruction and the bloodshed. It’s an attempt to draw away the attention of the Palestinian people from the Israeli colonisation of Jerusalem.”

The rocket fire comes at a time of heightened tensions following the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.

Israel has accused Hamas of being behind the deaths and arrested hundreds Palestinians in the West Bank.