JERUALEM – Israeli forces struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing one Palestinian and wounding more than 30 others as militants launched dozens of rockets in some of the heaviest fighting the area has seen in months.

The flare-up increased pressure on the Israeli government to put an end to the violence, which escalated over the weekend and could turn into a major conflagration just two months before the country's general election.

Israeli leaders quickly amped up their rhetoric, warning Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers they will pay a heavy price should they allow rocket fire toward Israel to continue.