1ST LEAD Israeli Air Force bombs Gaza Strip after rocket attacks By Sara Lemel and Eliyahu Kamisher

Gaza City (dpa) - The Israeli Air Force bombed a Hamas military compound in the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the country‘s defence forces (IDF) has confirmed. The bombing was a response to a militant rocket attack on Tuesday night, which set off sirens in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council area in southern Israel, the Israeli army said in a statement. Sporadic rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been launched at Israel in the past days, following a controversial US move to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital. Two Hamas militants have died in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Also on Tuesday, two Palestinian militants were confirmed dead after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Health Ministry said.The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said that the two militants - Hassan Ghazi Nasrallah and Mustafa al-Sultan - were preparing rockets when the explosion occurred. Meanwhile, Israel arrested Hassan Yousef, a high-ranking member of the Islamist Hamas movement in a raid overnight Tuesday at his home in the West Bank, according to an IDF spokeswoman. Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the US and EU, has called for a renewed intifada, or uprising, against Israel in light of Trump‘s declaration. Since US President Donald Trump‘s decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital, tensions have been high in the region. Street protests have since died down, but Palestinian organizations have called on locals to protest again on Friday.