Israeli jets strike back in Gaza Strip
THE Israeli air force has launched dozens of raids on the Gaza Strip after massive rocket fire pounded southern Israel, leaving at least 12 people injured.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed an air operation code- named Protective Edge had been launched, but did not give details.
Several houses were targeted in the raids on the southern Gaza Strip, notably in Khan Yunes, witnesses said.
Israel had “crossed a red line by attacking houses”, warned the Ezzedine al- Qas- sam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement which has its stronghold in Gaza.
“If this policy does not stop we will respond by enlarging the radius of our targets to the point where the enemy will be surprised,” it said.
Hamas militants in Gaza on Monday fired dozens of rockets at Israel, triggering the response.
It was the worst escalation in and around Gaza since November 2012, with tensions threatening to drag the region into a fresh confrontation as Israel sought to contain five days of violent clashes in Arab localities following the grisly murder of a Palestinian teenager by Jewish extremists.
The Israeli military said Monday more than 40 rockets had been fired at the south within a short period.
About 16 rockets struck the area around the southern city of Beersheva, 40km from Gaza. Beersheva is home to 200,000 people.
The Ezzedine al- Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Shortly afterwards, Israeli planes hit more than 30 targets near the southern Gaza city of Rafah in an area close to the Israeli border which is riddled with tunnels, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.
The latest flare- up came a day after Israel arrested six Jewish extremists in connection with the killing of the Palestinian teenager, who was kidnapped and burnt to death in a suspected revenge crime after last month’s abduction and murder of three Israeli youths in the West Bank.
The July 2 killing of the Pal- estinian teenager sparked five days of violent clashes in annexed east Jerusalem and in Arab towns across Israel, with police arresting hundreds of people.
The killing has caused shock, outrage, and no small measure of shame in Israel.
“To take a young boy, to kill him, to burn him – what for?” asked outgoing President Shimon Peres.
On Monday, both Mr Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the teenager’s father to convey their condolences.