Israeli Warplanes Launch Several Strikes on Gaza

Gaza, 28 Ramadan 1437/03 July 2016 (MINA) – Israeli warplanes Saturday pounded several locations across the Gaza Strip, in yet another act of aggression.

WAFA correspondent said Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired at least a missile on a location, west of Gaza city, reducing it to rubble and extensive damage to neighboring houses.

Another airstrike targeted a blacksmith belonging to the Hasanin family in the Gaza city neighborhood of al-Zaytoun, causing fires to break out.

Firefighter vehicles rushed to the scene of the blacksmith, a frequent target for Israeli warplanes, in order to extinguish fires.

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Missiles also struck another location in Beit Lahiya town and the vicinity of a Beit Hanun agricultural college in the northern besieged coastal enclave, causing deep holes.

No injuries were reported despite extensive property damage and wide-spread panic among civilians, especially children.

The Saturday morning attacks followed reports of an alleged rocket firing from Gaza at the southern Israeli city of Sderot. The alleged cross-border missile reportedly caused damage to a building.

The Israeli bombardment came several hours after Israeli imposed a general closure on the southern West Bank district of Hebron following the killing of an Israeli settler in a drive-by shooting attack. The closure was part of a series of reprisal measures approved by the Israeli cabinet against Palestinians.

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The bombardment also came after a Palestinian pregnant woman was killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron’s Old City following an alleged stabbing attempt as well as after a Palestinian elderly also died as a result of excessive tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces heavily fired tear gas at Palestinians attempting to enter Jerusalem via Qalandiya checkpoint for Friday prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli forces frequently bomb the besieged coastal enclave using disproportionate force in violation of international law.

In July 2014, Israel carried out a deadly onslaught on the strip, claiming the lives of over 2,200 people, overwhelmingly civilians, injuring over 11,100 others and flattening whole neighborhoods, displacing about 475,000 Palestinians.

Israal has placed a tightened blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas took over power in the strip, denying about 1.8 million population their basic rights and as a result causing a decline in their standard of living, unprecedented rates of unemployment and poverty.  (T/R07/R01)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)