Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Sunday threatened to respond to "Israeli terror" after IDF troops fired mortar shells into the Gaza Strip following gunfire targeting the soldiers patrolling the border.
Several shots were fired earlier at an IDF force brought in to reinforce the border after gunfire was heard near the perimeter fence in the morning hours. No Israeli troops were hurt in the incident.
Israeli troops fired several mortar shells in response, to obstruct the view of the perimeter fence.
As a result, the IDF ordered to stop all construction work of an underground barrier along the border and later blocked the main roads in the area.
The Islamic Jihad terror group called the incident "the continuation of Israeli terror," which will bring about a "Palestinian response".
"The scenes of random shootings by the army forces at the residents of the Gaza Strip continue to repeat themselves," said the terror group in statement. "This is a clear threat that endangers the residents' lives. Israel will bear the consequences of anything that happens to the residents or farmers as a result of the escalation."
The Eshkol Regional Council, which borders the coastal enclave, said in a statement they are shutting down all agricultural work along the border following the military's closure of all roads leading to the area.
The relative calm on the southern border has been broken last week when a barrage of explosive devices attached to balloons landed in Israeli communities in the area and started a number of large fires. The army responded by attacking several Hamas targets in the Strip.