Three Grad rockets exploded in the Ofakim area on Saturday. One rocket exploded near a school fence in the Merchavim Regional Council and caused minor damage, the second landed in an open area and the third has yet to be traced. Sirens were sounded in the region.
A mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip exploded near a kibbutz secretariat in the Eshkol Regional Council and caused damage to the building.
Earlier on Saturday, 24 mortar shells exploded in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's military wing claimed responsibility for the firing of Grad rockets.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri blamed Israel for an escalation in violence. "If the Israeli escalation continues, amid international silence and complicity, the reactions by resistance factions will broaden," he told Reuters, saying such actions would be necessary to protect Palestinians in Gaza.
Increased violence between Gaza-based militants and the Israeli military entered its third day Saturday amid growing fears that the escalation could bring about large-scale Israeli military action.
The Israeli air force struck and killed three Hamas personnel in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to both the Israeli military and Palestinian medics. The Israel Defense Forces said the peoile were a senior Hamas military wing leader and his two bodyguards.
This brings the three-day death toll in Gaza to at least 17. Ten militants and seven civilians have been killed in the strikes.
Israel on Thursday began a series of retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza after the Islamist group's missile attack against an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old boy.
Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel.
On Friday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on a civilian bus "crossed the line" and that "whoever tries to hurt and murder children will have no immunity."
Since Friday, 12 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been killed. Three Hamas commanders were killed in an Air Force strike overnight. They were identified as regiment commander Taysir Abu Snima, platoon commander Mohammad Awaja, and Shadi Zatame.
The mounting death toll in Gaza represents the highest number of Palestinian casualties since the 2008-2009 Israeli military offensive, when more than a thousand Palestinians were killed.
The offensive was prompted by daily missile bombardments from Gaza into southern Israeli communities and Israel's intention of ending the attacks.
Now, there is increasing speculation in both Israeli and Palestinian media that another large-scale Israeli military operation could be launched soon.
In a Friday letter to the U.N. Security Council, Riyad Mansour -- permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations -- charged Israel with using "indiscriminate an excessive force" and asked for the world body to intervene to "prevent the slaughter of more innocent civilians"
A mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip exploded near a kibbutz secretariat in the Eshkol Regional Council and caused damage to the building.
Earlier on Saturday, 24 mortar shells exploded in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's military wing claimed responsibility for the firing of Grad rockets.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri blamed Israel for an escalation in violence. "If the Israeli escalation continues, amid international silence and complicity, the reactions by resistance factions will broaden," he told Reuters, saying such actions would be necessary to protect Palestinians in Gaza.
Increased violence between Gaza-based militants and the Israeli military entered its third day Saturday amid growing fears that the escalation could bring about large-scale Israeli military action.
The Israeli air force struck and killed three Hamas personnel in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to both the Israeli military and Palestinian medics. The Israel Defense Forces said the peoile were a senior Hamas military wing leader and his two bodyguards.
This brings the three-day death toll in Gaza to at least 17. Ten militants and seven civilians have been killed in the strikes.
Israel on Thursday began a series of retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza after the Islamist group's missile attack against an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old boy.
Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel.
On Friday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on a civilian bus "crossed the line" and that "whoever tries to hurt and murder children will have no immunity."
Since Friday, 12 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been killed. Three Hamas commanders were killed in an Air Force strike overnight. They were identified as regiment commander Taysir Abu Snima, platoon commander Mohammad Awaja, and Shadi Zatame.
The mounting death toll in Gaza represents the highest number of Palestinian casualties since the 2008-2009 Israeli military offensive, when more than a thousand Palestinians were killed.
The offensive was prompted by daily missile bombardments from Gaza into southern Israeli communities and Israel's intention of ending the attacks.
Now, there is increasing speculation in both Israeli and Palestinian media that another large-scale Israeli military operation could be launched soon.
In a Friday letter to the U.N. Security Council, Riyad Mansour -- permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations -- charged Israel with using "indiscriminate an excessive force" and asked for the world body to intervene to "prevent the slaughter of more innocent civilians"
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