Israeli aircraft bombed a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt on Wednesday, killing a Palestinian, witnesses said. The attack came hours after Gaza militants stepped up rocket and mortarfire on southern Israel, in an apparent attempt to scupper Middle East peace talks.

Witnesses in the southern Gaza town of Rafah said the Israeli air strike killed a tunnel worker and wounded two other people. The Israeli army confirmed the attack.

Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two Qassam rockets into Israel. One of the rockets exploded in an open area in the industrial zone just south of Ashkelon. There were no injuries or property damage.

In addition to the rocket strikes, nine mortar shells also hit an open area in the Eshkol region near the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.

There was also a fear of renewed violence across the border in Jordan, with the U.S. embassy in the country warning of a high chance of terror attacks in the Red Sea city of Aqaba over the coming 48 hours.

The increased violence came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Tuesday in Egypt to continue the direct peace talks that began earlier this month. The leaders were meeting again in Jerusalem on Wednesday, for their third conversation in two days.

Hamas, which control the Gaza strip, have condemned the talks and early this month timed a pair of West Bank shooting attacks to coincide with the opening of negotiations in Washington, killing four Israelis and wounding two.