Gaza City – PNN - Israeli warplanes continued raids on the Gaza Strip throughout Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, injuring three Palestinians and one severely.
One young man’s foot was blown off in a raid targeting western Khan Yunes, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Some airstrikes appear to have been warnings, targeting empty areas of land near Beit Lahiya, Rafah, and Gaza City, while others struck tunnel sites.
The raids come after Israeli warplanes killed five Palestinians near Deir Balah, and one rocket landed near an Ashkelon kindergarten, lightly injuring one Israeli girl.
Israeli media have downplayed the likelihood of a major confrontation in the Gaza Strip, saying the “relatively limited attacks” from the territory have amounted to 180 rockets landing in southern Israel as compared to more than 4,000 in 2008, when Israel mounted the Cast Lead offensive.
For its part, the Islamic movement Hamas has explained that it is not behind the rocket attacks, though Israeli media suggests they may be sponsoring rather than organizing them. For example, the rocket that landed in Ashkelon came from a group called the Army of Islam, shunned by Hamas and linked with al-Qaeda.
Details of the other two injuries were not released at press time.
PNN - Palestine News Network - Airstrikes Continue in Gaza; Three Reported Injuries