November 19, 2009

Gaza/Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip in three locations early on Thursday, according to the country’s military and Palestinians in the coastal Strip.

A military spokesperson said the strikes targeted a "weapons manufacturing facility in the southern Gaza Strip and two smuggling tunnels in the Rafah border area."

Sources in Gaza confirmed that two tunnels were bombed, in addition to a facility said to be operated by Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Medics at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, and the larger Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis said however that no one was injured in the attacks.

The military spokesperson said that the strikes were successful, and were in response to the launch of what Israel terms "rockets" emanating from the Gaza Strip.

One of these rockets, a homemade projectile, was fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Wednesday morning, according to the military.

Also on Wednesday fighters affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said they fired mortar shells at what they described as undercover Israeli forces near the Erez border crossing, in northern Gaza. The Israeli army said it was "unfamiliar" with the report.

Palestinians in the town of Beit Hanoun, near the crossing, however, said they came under Israeli fire, which killed a horse. The Israeli military also denied the shooting.

An Israeli spokesperson said that a roadside bomb exploded near a military patrol south of the Karni crossing point, causing no injuries.