JERUSALEM, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel's air force fortified Thursday its anti-rocket batteries in southern Israel after a Thai woman was seriously wounded and 23 others were injured by rockets fired from Gaza over the past day.

The rocket fire from the Gaza Strip was renewed early on Thursday morning, severely injuring a 30-year-old Thai woman. Israel's emergency medical service said she is a foreign worker and was injured by shrapnel that hit a packaging factory in the regional council of Eshkol at around 6:00 local time (0300 GMT).

Two other men were injured in the explosion and were taken to a hospital.

A military spokesperson said that over 150 rockets have been launched from Gaza towards Israel since the escalation started on Wednesday evening.

The spokesperson said Israel's air force attacked over 140 "Hamas terror sites" in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian media reported that the air strikes killed at least three people in Gaza, including Enas Khammash, a 23-year-old pregnant woman, and her 18-month-old baby daughter Bayan. A Hamas fighter was also killed in the attacks and at least dozens of others were wounded.

It was the third serious flare-up of violence since July and came amidst attempts by United Nations' envoys and Egypt to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian movement that runs Gaza.