Israel launches retaliatory air raids on Gaza

JERUSALEM: The Israeli airforce launched three raids on targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday as military top brass weighed a stronger response to rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.

The air raids hit an uninhabited area to the west of Gaza City, without causing any casualties, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.

The Israeli targets included a training camp of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, the sources said.

An Israeli army spokesman said the planes attacked an arms dump and two rocket launch sites.

The air raids came hours after Gaza militants on Monday fired six rockets at southern Israel, one of which exploded next to a house.

The number of rockets fired on Monday represented a significant drop from a day earlier, when dozens of missiles crashed into southern Israel, prompting Israel to stage a series of overnight raids.

But it was unclear if the slowdown was a step towards a more decisive truce, or a lull.

Palestinian militants began launching rockets into Israel from around 7:30 am on Monday.

An initial count of 11 rockets was later revised down to six by the military, with the same number confirmed by the police. Two of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

One rocket landed in Netivot where medics said they treated 26 people for shock.

The latest flare-up began on Saturday night and has claimed the lives of six Palestinians, as armed groups fired scores of rockets at Israel, wounding eight.

Monday's rocket fire was claimed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees.