IAF strikes Rafah smuggling tunnels
Hours after Palestinian gunmen fire rockets at Sderot Thursday morning, Israel aircraft bomb tunnels in Rafah area
The Israel Air Force launched two strikes against smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Route, near the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, in response to several bouts of rocket fire from northern Gaza on Israel.
Gazans use the tunnels under the border with Egypt to smuggle weapons, food and other goods into the blockaded territory.
The first strike took place on Thursday afternoon, following Qassam fire on Sderot. The second strike took place in the evening, after a rocket was fired at the Eshkol Regional Council.
Thursday saw three rockets fired at Israel: Two Qassam rockets hit Sderot, causing two people to suffer shock; and a third landed in Eshkol Regional Council limits, causing no harm.
The Color Red alert, which warns residents of incoming projectiles, sounded in Sderot and surrounding communities at around 8:30 am; the rocket fired at Sderot landed shortly thereafter, and another Qassam fired by Palestinian gunmen landed near Sderot's industrial zone, causing no injuries or damage.
The owner of one of the damaged homes said "the rocket hit a tree situated between our two houses, but the other house sustained most of the damage.
"I thought that after Operation Cast Lead (in Gaza) we would have some peace, but it's not happening and I don't believe it will," he said.
Wednesday morning also saw two rockets fired towards the Negev region. No injuries were reported. The Israeli Air Force retaliated a few hours later by striking seven weapons smuggling tunnels in the southern Strip. No casualties were reported in the attack.
