GAZA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a series of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday night, but caused no casualties, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.

    An Israeli military plane fired a missile at an empty building in the northern Gaza Strip, which severely damaged the construction but led to no casualties, said local residents.

    The building, whose construction had been halted since the start of the Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) in 2000, was designed to be a hotel, they added.

    In a separate airstrike, an Israeli plane fired a missile at the Palestine Sports Stadium in Gaza City, damaging the stadium as well as surrounding buildings, said Palestinian security sources, adding that no casualties were reported.

    On early Friday, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on the launching pads in the Gaza Strip used by Palestinian militants to fire rockets into Israel. No casualties were caused.

    Meanwhile, the Popular Resistance Committees said in a leaflet that its militants managed to fire two homemade rockets from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel on Friday night, adding that an Israeli plane fired an missile at the militants on their way back, but they survived the attack unhurt.

    The group said that the rocket attack was a revenge for the death of the group's chief commander Abu Yousef al-Guga who was killed earlier on Friday in a car explosion in Gaza City.

    The group accused Israel of being behind the incident, but Israel has denied any involvement. Enditem