Israeli air strikes on an Islamic Jihad base in the southern Gaza Strip killed seven militants Saturday.

Islamic Jihad said a commander of the Palestinian militant group was among those killed in the attacks.

The air raids prompted a retaliatory rocket fire by Palestinian militants in which at least four Israeli civilians were wounded. Israeli police said militants in Gaza fired over 20 rockets into southern Israel.

The Israeli military confirmed the air strikes, saying those hit were responsible for firing rockets that landed in Israel on Wednesday. That attack caused no casualties.

In a statement Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said “Israel seeks no confrontation with the Palestinians and does not want to escalate the current situation, but it will not tolerate shelling after shelling without a response.”

The United Nations called for calm. U.N. Middle East envoy Robert Serry said “it was vital to de-escalate now, without delay.”