Gaza toll mounts
July 11, 2014
The Israeli army claimed on Friday morning that a rocket that landed on its territory appeared to have been fired from either Lebanon or Syria, while - further south - the Israeli offensive continued against targets in the Gaza Strip.
"One projectile hit an open space near Kfar Yuval, between (the towns of) Metula and Kiryat Shmona," a military spokeswoman told the AFP new agency.
The rocket fired into northern Israel was said to have landed close to a kibbutz near to Kfar Yuval, although there were no reports of casualties or damage. The Israeli military said it was still investigating the source of the launch. While hundreds of rockets have been fired into northern Israel from Gaza since an Israeli offensive began four days ago, Kfar Yuval is believed to be well outside the range of such launch sites.
Reuters quoted a Lebanese news agency source as saying at least two projectiles had been fired.
Israel has invaded Lebanon several times since the 1970s, occupying a part of the country for 18 years until it withdrew in 2000. More recently, a 34-day war between Israel and the Lebanese militant and political faction Hezbollah left some 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.
Deaths mount in Gaza
Palestinian authorities said at least four people had been killed in pre-dawn attacks on Friday, with reports that a woman and child were among the fatalities when the home of an alleged Islamic Jihad militant was struck in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told the AFP news agency 15 other people had been wounded in the air strike.
Palestinian medical authorities put the death toll among Gaza residents since the offensive began at 85 late on Thursday.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza since the Israel offensive from sea and air began against targets in the militant Hamas-controlled area.
One of the rockets hit a gas station on Friday morning, with ambulance authorities saying at least three people had been seriously injured. The majority of rockets fired into Israel this week have landed in depopulated areas, although some have crashed close to major cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israel has confirmed that it is preparing for a possible ground offensive within Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing pressure from Israel's political right to end the rocket fire.
US President Barack Obama told Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington was willing to help negotiate a ceasefire to the hostilities. The recent violence has escalated since the killing of three Israeli youths in the West Bank, whose bodies were discovered last week after a massive ground search. The find was followed by the murder of a Palestinian youth in what appeared to be a revenge attack.
rc/jm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)