[Elder of Ziyon] Rockets in south, IDF raids in Gaza

From YNet:

Two Qassam rockets were fired at the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council at noon on Thursday. No injuries or damage were reported.

Earlier on Friday, a Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. A Color Red alarm was sounded in the area.

The IDF carried out a strike against two targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Friday which Palestinian reports claim left one person dead. Gaza sources said that a Hamas training camp near Gaza city was hit in the strike and that shrapnel hit nearby residential buildings. One person was killed and 25 others, mostly women and children, were wounded as a result.

The Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported that among the victims were seven members of one family. According to the report, the person killed is 38-year-old Bahajat Zaalan. Among the victims are seven children between the ages of six months and 13, two of whom are in serious condition.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Air Force carried a strike in the Rafah area. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed that the IAF attacked two targets and carried direct hits.

It later added that the air raid involved "additional blasts which were caused by the presence of arms in terrorist centers that were attacked." The statement noted that "the IDF regrets injuries caused to innocents but stresses that Hamas is accountable."

The Ma'an article confirms that the target was a Hamas terrorist site, showing how Hamas uses the people of Gaza as human shields since there are homes nearby.

The IDF's assertion that the victims died because of secondary blasts is quite credible. Yesterday, the IDF targeted a car on a street in Gaza City and no bystanders were killed; IDF airstrikes have been remarkably limited in firepower lately, killing only the intended terrorists.

Meanwhile, how staged is this Reuters photo of the damage?

A Palestinian girl holds her brother as she looks at a house damaged in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City December 9, 2011.

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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder of Ziyon at 12/09/2011 08:05:00 AM