Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response after a series of rocket attacks from Lebanon on Thursday as tensions rose over Israeli police raids in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem this week threatens to get out of control, reports Reuters. Later, several explosions were heard in Gaza.

Several explosions were heard by AFP journalists in Gaza on Thursday evening, minutes before the Israeli army announced it was “striking the Gaza Strip”.

The missile strikes came shortly after Netanyahu’s threats.

Netanyahu met with his security cabinet ministers after the biggest rocket attack on Lebanon since 2006, when Israel was at war with the Hezbollah movement. In a brief televised address before the meeting, he called for calm in Al-Aqsa.

“As for the aggression directed against us from other fronts – we will hit the enemies, and they will pay for every act of aggression,” he said.

The Israeli military said Thursday that 34 rockets had been fired from Lebanon, 25 of which were intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system. The Israeli Ambulance Service reported that one man was slightly injured by shrapnel.

Israel is facing worldwide pressure after police raids on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach), which began on Wednesday night.

There were no claims of rocket attacks, but Israeli officials blamed Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.