Gaza/Jerusalem, May 12 (IANS): An Israeli airstrike on a house in the southern Gaza Strip resulted in the death of a Palestinian militant and the injury of four people.

According to a press statement from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the Israeli fighter jets on Thursday afternoon targeted a house in the town of Abassan, east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing one and leaving four others injured, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an armed faction in the enclave, confirmed the death of Ahmad Abu Daqqa, a field commander and member of its military council, in the Israeli airstrike on his family's house.

In a statement, an Israeli army spokesman said that Abu Daqqa, who "was responsible for launching rocket barrages" toward southern Israel on Wednesday, was the intended target of the airstrike.

He was the deputy of Ali Hassan Ghali, the commander of the rocket force of the PIJ, who Israel killed in an airstrike early in the morning.

The Gazan health authorities stated that the ongoing Israeli airstrikes have resulted in a death toll of 26 Palestinians, including 17 civilians and nine militants, with over 80 people injured in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Israeli unmanned drones and fighter jets carried out simultaneous airstrikes on several buildings in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of three senior PIJ members.

Meanwhile, fresh rocket barrages were fired at communities in southern Israel on Thursday, triggering sirens but causing no injuries.

At least 547 rockets have been fired toward southern and central Israel since Tuesday, with 394 of them crossing into Israeli territory, according to official Israeli figures.