Gaza Strip ? Gaza’s Hamas rulers indicated Friday they were trying to keep attacks on Israel in check, in an apparent attempt to keep a recent spate of violence from spiraling into open conflict.

Hamas made this known just hours after Israeli aircraft pounded multiple targets in the territory in response to the latest rocket attack on southern Israel. Three Palestinian children were wounded in one of the Israeli airstrikes, Gaza health official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said.

A statement released by the Hamas government after the aerial attacks accused Israel of an “escalation” against Gaza. But the Hamas government also said it was “making contact with the factions to safeguard internal agreement.”

Hamas has never explicitly criticized attacks against Israel, though top officials have said such attacks don’t serve Palestinian interests right now. Friday’s statement signaled the Islamic group was pushing to get the territory’s other militant groups to honor this policy.