Israeli airstrikes target Gaza, several wounded
Posted: 12 March 2010 0729 hrs

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GAZA CITY: Israeli aircraft hit two targets in southern Gaza Strip early Friday, wounding several people, the army and witnesses said.

In the first strike, they blew up a metal workshop in the town of Khan Yunis, and in the second, targeted a smuggling tunnel in the border town of Rafah, the army said.

Witnesses said several people were injured, but their condition was not immediately clear.

The army said the strikes were in response to a rocket attack Thursday that hit an empty workshop on a kibbutz in southern Israel, causing no casualties.

"We will not tolerate the firing of rockets and we will continue to respond harshly to attempts to disrupt the calm in southern Israel," an army spokesman told AFP.

The rocket, the first to be fired across the border in a month, struck as US Vice President Joe Biden was winding up a visit to the region.

According to Israeli government data, Palestinians have fired a total of 146 rockets and 71 mortar shells at Israel since its military offensive in the Gaza Strip ended in January last year.

- AFP/sc