New Rocket Barrage Hit Southern Israel Early Saturday

Xinhua
November 8, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/379/new-rocket-barrage-hit-southern-israel-early

A new barrage of rockets hit Israeli towns early Saturday as Palestinian militants renewed breaching an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in Gaza Strip.

But most of the attacks were carried out by factions that reluctantly accepted the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in June. Hamas violated the deal briefly earlier this week after Israeli airstrikes killed six of its militants in Gaza.

On Saturday morning, the Islamic Jihad faction said it fired ten home-made rockets into Israeli cities near the Gaza Strip.

Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the less-influential Islamic Jihad, said six of the rockets were fired at Sderot city in northeast Gaza Strip and four missiles were aimed at the coastal city of Ashkelon.

The movement added that the shelling took place "in successive phases."

Israeli planes responded by bombing four abandoned rocket launchers in northern Gaza Strip, according to the Islamic Jihad. No injuries were reported.

The shelling of southern Israel was in response to the death of seven Palestinians by Israeli fire this week. The seventh was killed late Wednesday in a separated airstrike at an Islamic Jihad rocket squad.

Meanwhile, Palestinian gunmen engaged an Israeli special force in northern Gaza Strip, exchanging fire. The National Resistance Committees, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed the responsibility for the clashes which caused no injuries in both sides.

The first serious violation of the ceasefire was recorded on Tuesday night when Israeli forcers suddenly entered central Gaza Strip, clashed with Hamas militant and killed him before withdrawing. Tow ensuing airstrikes led to the death of five other Hamas fighters in southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas fired tens of rockets into Israel after the death of its members but ceased the attacks later. Hamas also said it will remain committed to the ceasefire as long as Israel does.

The Egyptian-brokered deal aims at easing the Israeli blockade on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in exchange for stopping cross-border violence.

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