ISRAELI STRIKE DESTROYS BUILDING IN GAZA CITY

Tel Aviv, March 25: An Israeli airstrike has destroyed a multistory building in Gaza City that housed a Hamas-affiliated insurance company.

The Israeli military issued a statement Monday saying the building was "a secret headquarters of the Hamas terror organization" that was used by the Islamic militant group's intelligence agencies.

The powerful explosion scattered debris over a large area of the city. Prior to the main airstrike, aircraft dropped two smaller missiles on the roof of the building as a warning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is responding "forcefully" after a rocket fired from Gaza struck a home in central Israel early Monday, wounding seven people.

Hamas' leader says his group will respond if Israel retaliates too forcefully to an overnight rocket strike.

Ismail Haniyeh said in a written statement Monday that the Palestinian people "will not surrender" and its militant factions "will deter the enemy if it exceeds the red lines."

Haniyeh's statement came as Israel began striking targets in the Gaza Strip in response to the early morning rocket attack, which wounded seven people in a small town north of Tel Aviv.

Hamas' leaders went into hiding, police and security installations were evacuated and hospitals in Gaza were on alert in anticipation of the Israeli airstrikes.