Three Palestinian were reportedly wounded Sunday in an Israel Air Force strike on a motorcycle traveling in the northern Gaza Strip.

Palestinians gather around the wreckage of a motorcycle targeted by an Israeli air strike, Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2014. – Photo: AFP

One man was originally said to have died in the strike, but Palestinian officials later said this was incorrect and that he was in fact in a state of clinical death.

“We thought earlier that he was killed,” said Gaza Strip emergency services spokesman Ashraf Qedra.

Two other Palestinians were wounded – a 24-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy, who was wounded in the knee – Palestinian health officials said.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had struck a target in Gaza.

The army spokesman said that the target of the Air Force strike was Ahmed Sa’ad, a militant of the Islamic Jihad terror group. Sa’ad was directly involved in recent rocket attacks on Israel, including the six rockets fired at Ashkelon last Thursday, five of which were downed by the Iron Dome system, the army said.

Sa’ad was also involved in firing rockets at Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense, the army added, and in recent days he continued to plan rocket attacks on Israel.

The IDF said the strike was carried out “to remove an immediate threat to the citizens of Israel.”

Locals in Gaza confirmed the man in critical condition is an Islamic Jihad member, according to DPA.

In a cabinet meeting Sunday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Israeli attacks.

“Israel is determined to maintain quiet in the south. We are doing that with a policy of thwarting [attacks] in advance, and by responding forcefully to those who try to harm us or do harm us. I suggest Hamas takes this policy of ours into account.”

Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said Gaza militants must know that there is a personal price to pay when planning and executing attacks against Israel. “There is no immunity,” warned the lieutenant colonel.

On Saturday night, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and exploded in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. No damage or injuries were reported. In response, the Israeli army struck two targets in Gaza overnight. Hamas said two of its training camps were hit in the attacks, but no one was hurt.

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Saturday’s rocketfire came despite a severe warning passed on by Israel to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, telling them to immediately stop the deterioration of the situation along the border with Israel. Israel sent the message via Egyptian channels to tell Hamas to stop all rocket fire against Israel immediately.

Over the weekend, Hamas arrested a number of members of small organizations in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to rein them in and prevent rocket fire.

After months of relative quiet along the fence that separates southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, some 20 missile launches have been detected in the last month, the Israeli military said.

This is a developing story.

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.569327