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Strike in Gaza
Photo: AFP

IAF strikes targets in Gaza

Israel Air Force launches aerial assault on Gaza City in response to rocket attack on Ashkelon. Palestinians report of four strikes, nine people injured; IDF confirms airstrike

The Israel Air Force launched a series of aerial assaults on Gaza City Thursday, following a Palestinian rocket attack on Israel.

 

Israeli aircraft struck four targets in Gaza City on Thursday, including the home of a senior Palestinian militant killed by Israeli troops last week, Palestinian officials said.

 

Palestinian medical officials said the house was empty, but nine bystanders were lightly wounded. The explosion sent a thick plume of black smoke into the air.

 

The blast left a large hole on the second floor of the home, and destroyed its windows and front door. Cars parked nearby were destroyed, and windows of neighboring homes were shattered.

 

Officials with the ruling Hamas group said the home belonged to Mohammed Dadouh, a master rocket maker from the Islamic Jihad militant group who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. The home is next to a Hamas training base.

 

The Israeli army confirmed it had carried out an airstrike, but gave no details on the target.

 

Four Palestinians were killed Thursday after IDF forces fired a shell at a house near Khan Younis in central Gaza.

 

The house that was hit belongs to Fayyad Khamdan, a local Hamas city council member and one of the movement's senior leaders in the region.

 

Khamdan's 28-year-old son Sami, a senior commander of Islamic Jihad's military wing the al-Quds Brigades, was killed in the attack, along with his 50-year-old mother, Khreima, his sister Asma and another family member.

 

It is still unclear whether the house was the target of the strike, or whether it was randomly hit during clashes between IDF forces and local gunmen

 

Ali Waked and Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.03.08, 13:52
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