Israel's foreign ministry on Monday fired back at Turkish criticism over dozens of air and artillery strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight saying that the condemnations were "baseless" and that Ankara should 'think twice' before criticizing the military actions of others.

Earlier in the day Turkey's foreign ministry slammed Israel for the strikes in the Gaza Strip saying that a recent reconciliation between the two nations does not oblige them to remain silent on Palestinian issues.

Turkey, which last week ratified a rapproachement agreement with Israel ending a six-year rift between the two countries, condemned what is said were "disproportionate" strikes in Gaza that went "against international laws and especially against consciences."

"Normalization of relations with Israel does not mean that we are obliged to remain silent on the attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza," a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

"On the contrary. We will continue to defend the Palestinian issue to the actions of Israel, that contravene international law and human conscience before everything," it continued.

In the Israeli response, the foreign ministry rebuked Ankara's statement, saying that "normalization of our relations with Turkey does not mean that we will remain silent in the face of its baseless condemnations."

"Israel will continue to defend its civilians from all rocket fire on our territory, in accordance with international law and our conscience," the statement continued.

In a likely jab at Turkey's reaction to attacks within its own country carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Israel added that "Turkey should think twice before criticizing the military actions of others."

The Israeli Air Force hit dozens of targets in the northern Gazan city Beit Hanoun overnight Monday in response to an earlier rocket fired into Israel by a rogue Salafi group in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted AKP party has friendly ties with Gaza's Hamas rulers, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.

An Israeli Defense Forces official said Monday that Israel "is not interested in an escalation" of the conflict but is prepared for "anything," the Jerusalem Post reports.

A projectile fired by a Salafi group pledging allegiance to the Islamic State organization landed on a street in between two houses in the southern Israeli town of Sderot.

The IDF said it's immediate response to the rocket fire included both an air strike and artillery fire, including shelling a water tower speculated to have been used as an observation post.

Palestinian media said a second wave of strikes took place in the northern Gaza Strip several hours later targeting Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) installations.

An IDF spokesperson confirmed the second round of strikes, emphasizing Israel was holding Hamas responsible for every act of aggression issuing from the coastal enclave.

Responding to the Israeli strikes, Hamas said on Monday that "Israel is responsible for this escalation in the Gaza Strip."

According to the Palestinian Ma'an news agency, five people were lightly wounded by the Israeli strikes, including a man hit in the face by shrapnel.

Both Hamas and other splinter Islamic organizations have launched rocket attacks into Israeli territory in the past.

Red alert rocket warning sirens were heard around the Gaza border communities in southern Israel. No damage or injuries were reported as a result of the rocket attack.

An image released by Israeli police after the incident showed sappers working on a narrow path between two houses.

At the beginning of July a rocket fired from Gaza struck a vacant kindergarten in Sderot. Israeli aircraft struck four targets in the southern Gaza Strip in retaliation for the strike.

The rocket was reported to have fallen inside a kindergarten in the Gaza-border community, causing damage but no injuries.

The rocket attack came amid razor sharp tensions following a spate of terror attacks in the West Bank earlier in the day.

Violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 33 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

(Staff with agencies)