Thousands of Israelis took cover in bomb shelters as Hamas launched more rockets into central Israel Wednesday, prompting Israel to respond by launching more air strikes into Gaza. 

The ongoing military standoff, which began over the weekend, is becoming more escalated each day. 

The Israeli Army reported that at least five rockets launched from Gaza were shot down over Tel Aviv Wednesday, The New York Times reports. A number of longer-range rockets hit major cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Tuesday night, with most of them failing to hit any targets. A Syrian-built M-302 rocket hit near the city of Hadera, which is 70 miles from Gaza. 

According to Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, Palestinians have "tens" more like the M-302.

Israel intercepted a ship in March which was about 1,000 miles away in the Red Sea that had a shipment of M-302s. The rockets are said to have a 100-mile range. 

Israel said the shipment came from Iran, which supports Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant group that has also lobbed rockets into Israeli territory. 

On Wednesday, Israel also said that they targeted Abdullah Diyfallah, a senior Islamic Jihad rocket commander, in an air strike into Gaza. A second air strike hit a motorcycle in Beit Lahiya, killing 30-year-old Rafiq al-Kafarneh and seriously wounding a second person. 

The New York Times reports that at least 29 Palestinians have died in air strikes since Monday night, including eight Palestinians under the age of 16. Israeli officials said two Israelis were wounded by rocket attacks Monday. 

According to the NYT, Israel hit around 160 targets, including 118 rocket-launching sites, weapons storage facilities, multiple tunnels, 10 Hamas military command positions and six Hamas facilities. 

The Israeli military said that it has aimed for 440 targets since the offensive, called "Operation Protective Edge," began.

Israeli reservists are also being tapped to replace soldiers in the West Bank in order to allow the West Bank soldiers to prepare for a potential ground invasion in Gaza. The government told the IDF to call around 40,000 reservists for additional help. 

The military standoff was incited due to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, as well as the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem in an apparent act of revenge. 

The murder of the Israeli teens -- Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frankel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach -- occurred last month. The murders were allegedly perpetrated by Hamas affiliates.

The kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was reportedly executed by members of an anti-Arab group called La Familia, which supported the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team. 

As of Monday, three out of six Israeli suspects confessed to the murder. 

However, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Tuesday that he is unsure that they carried out the murder, and the investigation is ongoing. 

The kidnapping and murder of the Israeli teenagers led to a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank, which in turn appeared to push Hamas to respond from Gaza, which it controls. 

Prior to the murders, the state of relations between Israel and Palestinians was already deteriorating due to the breakdown of peace talks after Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas, an Islamic militant group, formed a unity government. 

While officials from the Israeli government said their goal is to restore quiet to Israel, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being pressured to expand its military operation. He is being pressured to send in more ground troops to destroy Gaza's military infrastructure that was rebuilt after it was destroyed by Israel in 2012. 

Conversely, Hamas is being pressured from other radical groups to show their military might. Yet, Hamas is being weakened by the Egyptian government sealing the border with Gaza, reducing Hamas' tax receipts. The group has also not benefited greatly from aligning itself with Fatah.