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Remnants of a projectile that was fired from Gaza and hit the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel on December 19, 2014. Photo by Ilan Assayag

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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Five Palestinians injured by army fire in northern Gaza

The Israeli air force carried out, on Saturday at dawn, two air strikes targeting two areas in the Gaza Strip, for the first time since Israel’s war on the coastal region ended three months ago.

Media sources said Israel F16 fighter jets fired a missile into an area, where an illegal settlement once stood, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The attack led to property damage and power blackout in large areas in the Khan Younis district.

It did not lead to injuries, while army helicopters and F16 jets have been flying over the coastal region on a low altitude raising fears of additional bombardment.

On Friday afternoon, Israel alleged a homemade shell was fired from Gaza, and landed in an open area, in the Eshkol Regional Council of Settlements in the Western Negev.

Israel Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, a political leader of the Likud Party, said Israel “intends to retaliate to the missile, fired earlier into the Western Negev.”

He refused to elaborate on the type of retaliation, but said the government of Benjamin Netanyahu “reserve its right to retaliate.”

Erdan also held Hamas responsible for any violations of the ceasefire agreement.

On Friday evening, five young Palestinian men were injured by Israeli army fire east of Jabalia town, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The five were moved to the Kamal ‘Adwan Hospital suffering mild-to-moderate injuries.

The soldiers opened fire from their military towers, east of the Shuhada Graveyard, in the eastern part of Jabalia.

Israel has been frequently violating the ceasefire, by conducting dozens of limited invasions into border areas, and uprooting Palestinian farmlands, in addition to frequent assaults against farmers and workers in border area, and the ongoing assaults against the fishermen in Palestinian waters.
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The attack - the first since Operation Protective Edge - was launched in response to a rocket fired into Israel earlier on Friday.

By Gili Cohen for Haaretz

The Israel Air Force attacked a Hamas installation in the Gaza Strip Friday night in response to a rocket launched from the coastal enclave into Israel earlier on Friday.

This is the first Israeli attack in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge this summer.

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that an Israeli aircraft fired rockets at a military installation northwest of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the report no-one was injured in the attack.

The IDF said that the attack was launched in response to a rocket that was fired on Friday from Gaza and exploded in an open area in Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel, close to the Gaza border. No injuries or damage were reported in this incident.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman: "The IDF will not permit any attempt to undermine the security and jeopardize the well being of the civilians of Israel. The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible and accountable for today's attack against Israel."

Haim Yelin, the head of the council, said that "whoever thinks that military deterrence is the route to peace and quiet for the Gaza bordering regions doesn't understand that wars are won by diplomats...

"After Protective Edge, the state had a unique opportunity to bring about a long-term settlement. But instead we find ourselves with a ticking clock until the next round of escalation, and the next war."

This is was first rocket fired at Israel since a rocket exploded in a field in Eshkol, near the border, on November 1, and the third projectile fired at Israel since this summer's Operation Protective Edge.