Israeli army officials said over the weekend that dozens of suppression air strikes against Gaza rocket crews, weapon storehouses and smuggling tunnels curbed Islamic Jihad's ability to fire missiles and mortar bombs at Israel.

"Islamic Jihad was hit hard in the recent round of violence but the rocket fire continued since it needs to be able to have the last word," a senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend, but also noted the ability of the militants to fire such a large number of rockets in such a relatively short period.

Army sources Xinhua spoke with on Sunday were unable to confirm the report by press time.

Over the past seven days, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and similar groups fired salvos of some 300 Grad and Kassam rockets at cities and towns in a 40-kilometer radius of the Gaza Strip, causing injuries, property damage and millions of shekels in losses to shuttered businesses, municipal officials told Xinhua.

Many schools, regional colleges, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reopened Sunday after having remained closed during the previous week in order to keep students and schoolchildren out of harm's way.

Israel Air Force bombed more than 40 targets throughout the Gaza Strip over the past week, including nearly 20 rocket squads, several weapon storage centers and underground long-range rocket launchers, killing at least 26 Palestinians, more than 20 of them militants.

IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai on Friday laid the blame for the rocket fire on Iran, echoing recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mordechai said that Tehran was "pulling the strings" controlling the projectile attacks, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Iran continues to operate proxies in Lebanon and Gaza and to support them with weapons and funds, Mordechai wrote on his Facebook page.