Israel bombs Gaza again

Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip again, with fighter jets hitting two targets in the north and east of the territory. Although it is claimed that this is the first time that the air force has carried out a bombing raid since the ceasefire with Hamas was signed last November, Israel has in fact broken the terms of the truce more than 100 times with land incursions and attacks on Palestinian fishermen.

Witnesses in Gaza said that Israel’s bombs landed in some empty land in northern Gaza and hit a metalwork shop in the east of the Strip. No injuries were reported.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth said that Israeli tanks returned fire after what they claimed were two mortar attacks launched from Gaza. According to the newspaper, two mortars and another projectile, either a Qassam rocket or another mortar shell, were fired towards Israel. All three landed in the Palestinian territories, the report said.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces blamed Hamas for the “rockets” launched from Gaza even though responsibility was claimed by the Mujahideen Shura Council. “This is a response to the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails,” it said in a statement. The group has also claimed that it fired two rockets last month during the visit of US President Barack Obama to the region.

The Palestinian government in Gaza called on Egypt, which brokered the ceasefire, to ask Israel to stop its violations of the terms of the agreement.