The Israel Air Force struck a Hamas base in the Gaza Strip's north early on Thursday, hours after several live rounds were fired from the enclave toward houses in an Israeli border town.

No one was injured by the gunfire that hit Kibbutz Nativ Ha'Asara on Wednesday night, but three houses were damaged by the bullets, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF said it struck a Hamas military facility where the gunfire originated. It said it views Hamas "as the only party responsible for what goes on in the Gaza Strip, and for maintaining the quiet in the region."

The army's initial assessment was that the gunfire was accidental. A Hamas training facility, built after last year's Operation Defensive Shield, occupies the area just over the border from the kibbutz.

A synagogue on the kibbutz was damaged in a similar incident last April.

Sirens sounded on the kibbutz and the adjacent Kibbutz Yad Mordechai early Wednesday morning. According to the IDF, the sirens were probably triggered by the unsuccessful launch of a rocket from Gaza.

A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council last week. There were no injuries and sirens did not sound. In response, the Israel Air Force struck targets in the center of the Strip.