Israeli aircraft killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip Sunday, as Israel's military prepared to deploy a new defense system to shoot down rockets fired from Gaza.

Islamic Jihad, a militant group that often attacks Israel, said the two men killed were Islamic Jihad members. The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli army spokeswoman confirming the attack and saying the air force plane had hit a “terrorist cell” that she said was “preparing to fire a rocket at Israel.”

Tensions between the two sides have escalated during the past week, with Palestinian militants firing dozens of rockets and mortar shells into Israel and Israeli forces responding with air strikes.

The Israeli military said it would begin operating its Iron Dome rocket defense system on Sunday. The government says the multimillion-dollar interceptor system is capable of shooting down rockets fired from a range of five to 70 kilometers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his government was prepared to act with “great force” to halt rocket attacks from Gaza.

Palestinian militants, including Gaza's Hamas rulers, said Saturday that they will cease fire if Israel does. There was no immediate reaction from Israel.