E-Paper
Israeli air strike on Gaza: Palestinians
Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday near the southern city of Rafah, Palestinian security officials said.
Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday near the southern city of Rafah, Palestinian security officials said.
The air strike followed the firing of a mortar round from the Gaza Strip into Israel, which injured one soldier, said an Israeli military official.
The first Israeli air strike against Gaza since August 10 targeted tunnels under the border with Egypt to break the Israeli-imposed blockade on the territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned on several occasions during recent weeks that the Israeli army would respond to each rocket or shell fired into Israel.
On Monday a Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire and another man wounded when they approached the border with Israel on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, Gaza medics said.
Shortly after that incident three mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, wounding one soldier.
According to the army more than 200 rockets and shells have been fired from Gaza since Israel's 22-day offensive against the Hamas rulers of the territory in December and January.
Operation "Cast Lead", which led to more than 1,400 Palestinian deaths including hundreds of civilians and which devastated swathes of the coastal strip, was officially aimed at ending the firing of rockets from Gaza.
