IDF Armored Corps tanks conducted fired shells at terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, following Palestinian rocket fire targeting civilian targets in the morning.

After the IDF strikes, a barrage of rockets was fired from Gaza into southern Israel, setting off warning sirens in numerous communities.

The military instructed residents along the border with the Hamas-ruled enclave to remain close to shelter, in anticipation of a possible escalation in violence.

Palestinian terrorists fired four projectiles toward the Jewish state early Tuesday, after senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan died in prison following an 87-day hunger strike.

Reuters cited Israeli prison authorities who said Adnan, 45, “refused to undergo medical tests and receive medical treatment” and “was found unconscious in his cell” at Nitzan Prison in Ramle.

Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

“The occupation [Israel] will pay the price for [Adnan’s] death,” which “will be a lesson for generations,” said PIJ in a statement. “We will not leave this path as long as Palestine remains under occupation.”

Hamas, which rules Gaza, described Adnan’s death as a “coldblooded execution by the Israeli security services,” and warned that “the Palestinian people will not let this crime pass by in silence.

“The path of revolution and resistance will escalate,” said the terror organization.