Two Palestinian boys killed in Israeli air strike

Two Palestinian teenagers were found killed in the southern area of the besieged Gaza Strip, following two waves of Israeli air raids.

The two bodies of the two 17-year-old boys were retrieved in the city of Rafah on Sunday morning, Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for Gaza's health ministry, confirmed.

At least two other Palestinians have been wounded, one of whom is in critical condition, and are currently treated in a medical facility in Rafah.

Israel’s army said it attacked “18 terror targets belonging to the Hamas terror organisation” in two waves of air strikes following the blast. 

“Eight targets were attacked in a military compound near Deir el Balah, which belongs to the Hamas terror organisation, including weapon-manufacturing and training infrastructures,” it said in a statement early Sunday.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that missiles launched from an Israeli F-16 attack aircraft damaged several civilian homes.

In a series of Twitter posts, Palestinian political party Hamas blamed Israel for the "escalation".

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008, and the last conflict in 2014 was waged in part over tunnels from Gaza that were used to launch attacks.

Tensions between the Palestinians and Israel have been high since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state in December.