March 14, 2012
Israeli retaliatory strikes hit Gaza amid cease-fire
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A car that was damaged by a grad rocket fired from Gaza on March 13. Photo by REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Despite a cease-fire that has held for about a day, Israel’s military struck two sites in Gaza in retaliation for attacks on Israel following a cease-fire announcement.
Israel’s Air Force fired on what it called two “terrorist activity sites” in northern Gaza early Wednesday morning, some 24 hours after the announcement of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said the attack was in response to rocket attacks from Gaza that struck Israel following the announcement. One of the seven rockets and mortars fired from Gaza landed in a parking lot in Netivot, injuring one person and damaging property.
Also Wednesday, Palestinian officials said an 8-year-old boy hurt in an Israeli attack Monday died of his injuries. A teenage boy had died in the same attack.
Terrorist groups in Gaza began launching a barrage of rockets at Israel on March 9 after Israel assassinated Zuhir Mussah Ahmed Kaisi, leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces believed Kaisi was planning a terrorist strike in Israel.
More than 200 rockets were fired from Gaza on Israel.
At least 27 Palestinians, including Wednesday’s death, a 14-year-old and three other civilians, were killed in the Israeli attacks. The majority of those killed were terrorists, including 14 from Islamic Jihad, according to the IDF.
At least eight Israelis and foreign workers in Israel have been wounded, two seriously, and dozens have been treated for shock, according to reports.
Schools that had been closed for three days in cities and towns including Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod reopened on Wednesday, though in some communities up to half of the students did not show up.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Treasury in consultations with the Histadrut Labor Federation agreed to compensate employers and their employees for missed work due to the rocket fire.
