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JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Air Force attacked a Hamas observation post in the southern Gaza Strip early Friday morning in response to a rocket attack several hours earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.

The IDF held Hamas accountable for all violence emanating from the Gaza Strip in the statement.

Hours earlier, an IDF spokesperson said that a rocket was fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday night. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the strike.

The IDF said on Thursday in a statement that the IDF troops apprehended four suspects who infiltrated into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip. Two knives and a grenade were found in the possession of one of them. The suspects were transferred to security forces for further questioning.

Rocket fire from Gaza has increased since U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6 last year.

Following Trump's announcement, the Palestinians have been clashing with Israeli forces throughout the West Bank and near the fence between Gaza and Israel, protesting the decision. Israel seized the Gaza Strip and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East war and occupied them ever since despite international criticism.