ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES TARGET CENTRAL GAZA STRIP
Gaza City, 21 Jumadil Akhir 1435/21 April 2014 (MINA) – Israeli occupation launched several airstrikes on the central Gaza Strip on Monday, injuring two people, Hamas said in a statement.
Gaza’s Ministry of Interior said Israeli warplanes targeted a security facility in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, injuring two security officers, according to Ma’an News Agency report quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
Another airstrike hit a nearby livestock farm, causing material damage but no injuries, while a third strike targeted an open area in Deir al-Balah.
Israeli occupation warplanes also struck a target in Khan Younis, the ministry said.
Israel’s military said in a statement that “a short while ago, IAF aircraft targeted two terror activity sites in the southern Gaza Strip and a third site in the central Gaza Strip, in response to the latest severe aggression emanating from Gaza. Direct hits were confirmed.”
Earlier, seven rockets fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel.
An anti-tank missile was also fired at Israeli soldiers patrolling a border area in the southern Gaza Strip, a spokesman said, with no reports of injuries or damage.
No group in Gaza has claimed responsibility for firing the rockets.
Although Hamas — which runs the Gaza Strip — and Israel have maintained a fragile ceasefire since Nov. 2012, militant groups in the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave frequently launch rockets into Israel.
The majority of these attacks, which primarily involve homemade projectiles, land harmlessly in open areas across southern Israel.
Israel has maintained a severe economic blockade on the Gaza Strip’s 1.7 million residents since 2006.
The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans. (T/Fauziah/P03/E01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
