GAZA STRIP (CNN) -- Israeli air strikes have killed six Palestinians and injured several within 24 hours, Gaza medical officials said on Tuesday.
The first blasts rocked Beit Hanoun, a city in northern Gaza, on Monday, killing four.
The strikes followed the killing of an Israeli worker on Monday during an ambush at the Israel-Egypt border. Two gunmen were killed.
According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, its first strike was carried out against a group of men who were allegedly laying explosives near the security fence in central Gaza.
The ministry claims the next air strike, on Tuesday, in northern Gaza targeted a "terrorist squad" attempting to fire a rocket at Israel.
"Every time Israel assassinates any Palestinian they claim he was attempting to fire a rocket at them or to bomb something in Israel. They just need to justify the violence while occupying our country. And Palestine as an independent state has a right to respond", said Islamic Jihad leader Khalid Al-batsh.
Meanwhile, Hamas stated it had shelled an Israeli military base not far from the Gaza Strip border on Tuesday, calling the strike a response to the killing of one of its members in the Beit Hanoun attack.
The Israeli Defense Ministry confirmed three rockets landed within Israel, but did not say whether the military base was damaged.