Palestinians: IDF bombs Gaza targets; 1 killed
Palestinian witnesses say Air Force jets bombed targets in Gaza City, Rafah in retaliation for Grad fire towards Ashkelon; 12 people reportedly injured in Ansar compound, formerly Yasser Arafat's HQ
On Friday morning gunmen in the Strip fired a Grad rocket that exploded in Ashkelon, followed by two mortar shells that landed in Eshkol Regional Council.
Al-Jazeera reported that among the targets bombed were Tel al-Hawa neighborhood and the Ansar compound, both in Gaza City, as well as targets in Rafah and Deir al-Balah.
Twelve people were reportedly injured, some seriously, in the Ansar security compound, which previously served as the headquarters of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
The IDF confirmed that Israel Air Force jets struck three targets in Gaza, include a terror hub in the northern Strip, a weapons factory in the central Strip and a smuggling tunnel in the south. All jets returned safely to their bases.
The IDF said Friday's attack came in response to the Grad rocket fired at Ashkelon earlier in the day, and stressed that the military would continue to operate against any element threatening the citizens of Israel and its soldiers.
"The IDF holds the Hamas terror organization solely responsible for the occurrences in the Strip and for maintaining calm there," the IDF statement said.
The Palestinians said Friday night's assault was the largest IDF strike since Operation Cast Lead.
According to the sources, the man killed in the strike was a Hamas operative, who was hit while in a caravan near a refugee camp in the central strip. It was unclear what Hamas was using the caravan for.
After a few months of relative calm, a Grad rocket exploded in a populated area of Ashkelon Friday morning, causing eight people to suffer shock but no physical injuries. Later two mortar shells exploded in Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries.
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