Man injured during four new Israeli raids in Gaza Strip

[ 07/04/2011 - 10:12 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A man was injured, tunnels were damaged and people panicked after the Israeli occupation forces launched four raids on various targets in the Gaza Strip.

The first raid targeted a tunnel used to bring cars into the Strip south of the Brazil district of southern Rafah city, locals told our correspondent. It was completely destroyed, and several nearby tunnels also sustained damage without report of injury.

An F-16 fighter plane carried out a bombing creating a loud bang that caused a state of panic in the nearby area, the sources added.

The second raid hit hit an empty region near Ammarin near a school in the Al-Zaytoun district south Gaza. The third struck an open area near a mosque in the same district.

Israeli warplanes carried out a fourth raid near the Salaheddin gate in Rafah, leaving a man with minor injuries. He has been hospitalized.

One Martyred, 10 Hurt as Israel Shells Gaza

One person was martyred and at least 10 were wounded on Thursday when Israeli occupation troops shelled two separate areas in Gaza, the Palestinian emergency services said.

Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said one person had been martyred and eight others including a small child were injured when Israeli forces shelled the Shejaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. Shortly afterwards, another two people were wounded when the army shelled an area east of Jabaliya refugee camp, he said.

Farther south, Israeli warplanes raided a target near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, but no one was injured, Palestinian security forces said.

The shelling came shortly after an anti-tank missile hit a bus in the occupied territories, wounding two persons, according to Israeli media. Following the attack, 16 additional mortar shells were fired at Israeli-occupied towns in the western Negev, most of them hitting open areas.

Immediately following the attack, the Israeli army quickly retaliated and launched both land and air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, as Defense Minister, Ehud Barak ordered the army to respond quickly and said he held the Hamas resistance group responsible for the violence.

ISRAEL INTERCEPTS GAZA ROCKET

Meanwhile, press reports said on Thursday that Israel's Iron Dome short-range missile defense system intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza for the first time over the city of Al-Khalil.

AFP quoted a military source as confirming the rocket had been brought down by the unique multi-million-dollar system, which came into operation on March 27, the first time a short-range interceptor has been deployed anywhere.

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