IAF airstrike on Gaza (file)
IAF airstrike on Gaza (file)Flash 90

Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets launched a strike on Wednesday morning against a terror cell in northern Gaza.

The cell engaged in planting explosives on the security fence targeting soldiers patrolling the border with Gaza. According to the IDF, direct strikes on the terrorists were identified.

Israeli farmers were instructed to keep their distance from the border area, out of an apparent concern over reprisals. Likewise security coordinators in the region were ordered to be doubly alert and on the lookout for reprisal attacks.

According to the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency, one terrorist was killed in the strike and three others were wounded. The Arab news source also claimed that the Israeli navy opened fire on several Arab boats in southern Gaza near the Rafiah coast.

A military source revealed that soldiers identified bombs on the border during operational activities, and nearby the terror cell that planned to detonate the explosives as the IDF forces passed by was located.

In response, IAF jets were called in and took out the terrorists.

MK Haim Yellin (Yesh Atid), a resident of Nahal Oz and former Eshkol regional council head, praised the security forces who "proved this morning again that they will do everything so that Gaza Belt residents can live in quiet."

"Israel must increase the deterrence against Hamas and respond forcefully to all fire from Gazan territories into Israeli territories," said Yellin. "No country in the world can ignore terror on its citizens. Israel has the right to respond with force, every terrorist needs to know they have a death sentence."

The strike comes a day after reports indicating Hamas has almost completely reconstructed its terror tunnel network to where it was at before Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.

In the fighting - which started when Hamas launched an onslaught of missiles at the Jewish state - over 30 of the attack tunnels leading into sovereign Israeli territory were destroyed.

Wednesday's airstrike on the terror cell brings to mind IDF actions last month in foiling an attack on the border.

IDF forces patrolling near the border located powerful explosives planted on the security fence. The bombs did not detonate, with a number of them connected to a long-distance delay mechanism activated by a cell phone.