IAF targets Gaza terror cell; rockets fired into Israel

Two rockets land in Israel after reconciliation deal announced; Shin Bet attempts to thwart "imminent threat to Israeli security."

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, REUTERS
IAF jet 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IAF jet 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israel Air Force targeted one or more terrorists in northern Gaza involved in firing rockets at Israel, but the strike missed the intended target, security forces said Wednesday.
Palestinian media later said four civilians had been hurt in the attack.
The Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) had identified the target, which constituted an “imminent threat to Israeli security,” security sources told The Jerusalem Post after the air strike.
Soon afterward, Palestinian rocket-launching squads fired at least two rockets at the South. The projectiles triggered the Color Red alert and fell in open areas; one exploded in Sha’ar Hanegev and the second on the Ashkelon coast. There were no casualties in the attacks.
The attack came two days after terrorists in the Palestinian enclave launched seven rockets into southern Israel.
Security sources have declined to say which terrorist organization the air strike targeted.
MK Nachman Shai (Labor) criticized the decision to have the IAF strike targets in Gaza after the Hamas-Fatah agreement was signed.
“This act will be seen as an attempt to sabotage Palestinian reconciliation and makes Israel once again look like we’re trying to avoid any chance of an agreement. This plays into the hands of [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas and [Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh,” Shai added.