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Police inspect the scene of a Qassam rocket strike near Kibbutz Nir Am on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Last update - 23:48 16/01/2008
IAF kills five in Gaza as rockets pound south Israel
By Amos Harel, Mijal Grinberg and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Sderot, Qassams, Gaza Strip 

An Israel Air Force strike killed two Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, as militants in Gaza launched more than 40 Qassam rockets at the western Negev.

The strike came shortly after Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed that Israel would step up its military offensive on Gaza in response to the barrage of Qassam rockets on southern Israel.

Hamas said the IAF missile strike Wednesday evening destroyed a car, killing its two occupants and wounding at least three others.
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The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike and said the vehicle targeted was carrying a load of weapons.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, three Palestinian civilians were killed in an IAF strike that targeted a militant's car east of Gaza City. The fatalities included a teenager, his father and his uncle.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 40 Qassam rockets and three mortar shells at over the course of Wednesday, causing damage and some injuries.

At least 18 rockets in the barrage landed in Sderot, one in the yard of a
house, causing no casualties but severe damage to the home. Most of the rockets that landed in the town hit fields.

Eight civilians were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital for treatment, two of them suffering minor injuries from shrapnel. Several people were also treated for shock.

The barrage of rockets also disrupted traffic, causing a road accident which left one woman moderately injured.

Military sources confirmed that the fatalities in the afternoon strike on Gaza were civilians. The sources said the strike targeted a car carrying a group of militants who had fired rockets at Israel, but that for an unknown reason the missiles hit a different car in the area.

Palestinian sources identified the dead as members of the Yazji family - Amar, Mohammed, and 14-year-old Amir.

The IDF said it had opened an investigation into the incident. The IAF has successfully reduced the number of civilians killed in air strikes from roughly 50 percent in 2002-2003 to 2-3 percent in 2007.

The rockets struck the Sderot area and south of the port city of Ashkelon. Two woman suffered from shock and were taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for part of the barrage, saying it was in response to Wednesday's killing of the group's top West Bank commander during an Israel Defense Forces operation near Jenin.

Meanwhile, business tycoon Arcadi Gaydamak announced plans Wednesday to evacuate Sderot teens aged 13 to 20 from the town over the weekend, in order to give them a break from the rocket attacks.

The barrage came a day after at least 19 Palestinians were killed Tuesday, including 15 militants, in IDF air and ground operations in the coastal territory.

Also Tuesday, at least 10 people were hurt when Palestinian militants launched a barrage of Qassam rockets and mortar shells at Israel in a day of fierce fighting in Gaza.

'I saw my daughter drenched in blood'

The father of a 5-year-old girl hurt when a Qassam hit their neighbor's Sderot home Tuesday vowed his family will not return to the city that has been repeatedly hit by rockets and mortar shells.

The girl, Lior Ben-Shimol, was at her neighbor's house playing with their children when the attack occurred. Her father and younger brother were in their adjacent home.

"Suddenly my wife called me, telling me there was a Color Red alert and that she does not know where to take cover," the girl's father, Yaron Ben-Shimol said, referring to the siren informing residents of an incoming rocket attack. "A second later I heard an explosion and saw a Qassam had hit the neighbor's house."

At the moment of impact, the girl had been playing with the neighbors' children aged 3 and 7, one of whom was also hurt.

"I ran to the neighbor's house and saw my daughter come to me drenched in blood," Ben-Shimol recounted. He said his daughter had already been given psychological help to cope with the stress of living under constant attack.

Ben-Shimol's father, Haim, is the chief of the Magen David Adom ambulance service in Sderot.

The father of the other child hurt in the attack, Shlomi Argon, was at work when the attack took place. "They called me telling me my home was hit," he said, his voice full of emotion, while tightly holding his younger son in his hands at the Barzilai Medical Center's emergency room in Ashkelon. The child was covered with smears of blood.

Unlike his neighbor, Argon vowed to stay in Sderot despite the attack.

Related articles:
  • IDF soldiers kill Islamic Jihad's top commander in West Bank
  • News / IDF kills at least 19 Palestinians in Gaza raids
  • Exiled Hamas leader says Bush 'incited the Zionists' to raid Gaza
  • ANALYSIS / Despite raid, Hamas, Israel don't seek escalation
  • State: Israeli residents' endurance to rocket fire must be enhanced
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      1.   And they are whining when Israel retaliates 04:59  |  get real 16/01/08
      2.   residents of sderot,have you gone mad? 05:25  |  chaim 16/01/08
      3.   This is so ridulous 05:39  |  Yehudit 16/01/08
      4.   Gazastan sends 50, Israel should send 500 05:43  |  David 16/01/08
      5.   Dim bulbs 06:04  |  Natallie Durson 16/01/08
      6.   Natalie, soon the dim bulbs will be extinguished. 07:02  |  Stephen in New York 16/01/08
      7.   very bim buld 07:27  |  Adrian de Klerk 16/01/08
      8.   And the electricity is still on 07:35  |  Ron 16/01/08
      9.   # 5 Natallie Durson 07:39  |  Jo Jo 16/01/08
      10.   ba 07:42  |  ba 16/01/08
      11.   What part of stop the Qassams don`t you understand? 07:58  |  Dan 16/01/08
      12.   Let Sderot Residents Fire Back At The Ready 09:19  |  Raoul 16/01/08
      13.   For Dan in Haifa # 11 09:29  |  Clickfool 16/01/08
      14.   `I saw my daughter drenched in blood` 09:31  |  Clickfool 16/01/08
      15.   #14, just to remind you, this is an Israeli paper 09:45  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/01/08
      16.   Clickfool - his name says it all 09:50  |  Eldar 16/01/08
      17.   Rape Israel 09:53  |  paul almond 16/01/08
      18.   Yehudit 09:53  |  Iz Ray Leigh 16/01/08
      19.   #14 Click the Fool 10:05  |  Michael 16/01/08
      20.   ISRAEL NEEDS A NEW GOVERNMENT 10:09  |  Lou Knee 16/01/08
      21.   Wow, Eldar!!! 10:10  |  Clickfool 16/01/08
      22.   For Cipora # 15 10:14  |  Clickfool 16/01/08
      23.   HAMAS STOP CRYING AS WOMEN 10:15  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      24.   THE ARABIC ENTELLECTUAL SHADOW ADVICORS 10:18  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      25.   #17# Israels enemies are more crazy than we thought !! 10:18  |  Lou Knee 16/01/08
      26.   HAMAS ! YOU ARE NOT EVEN SOMETHING BAD ! 10:20  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      27.   SO ! NOTHING NEW ! 10:22  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 16/01/08
      28.   25 Qassams 10:23  |  Steve 16/01/08
      29.   Two of a kind 10:23  |  Ayman 16/01/08
      30.   Clickfool involontarily arguing the humanity of the IDF... 10:24  |  Ofer Maimon 16/01/08
      31.   YES ! HAMAS ! I RESPECT ISRAEL EVEN I DONT SEE HER OKEY 10:30  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      32.   #14 where are the quotes clucking fool 10:32  |  v hardman 16/01/08
      33.   DOES THAT GIRL HAS A GOD ? 10:34  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      34.   clickfool 10:34  |  Connie 16/01/08
      35.   FAIR FIGHT IS NOT CHARACTER OF YITZAK AND ISHMAEL 10:38  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 16/01/08
      36.   WOW CLICKFOOL A poster without an original thought to his credit 10:39  |  PETER SM 16/01/08
      37.   And we are now talking withdrawal from the WB? 10:39  |  Ofer Maimon 16/01/08
      38.   recognize 10:40  |  coffe bob 16/01/08
      39.   TO CLICKFOOL #14 10:43  |  dovale 16/01/08
      40.   IF ISRAEL SHOWING HER CHILDREEN IN BLOOD ! that is something 10:44  |  ... 16/01/08
      41.   DOES THAT BABY HAS A GOD ! HAMAS ? 10:45  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/01/08
      42.   Clickfool. 10:49  |  David Nigel Braham 16/01/08
      43.   no14, Clickfool 10:49  |  Denis 16/01/08
      44.   Israel serves as an example to all 11:10  |  Natallie Durson 16/01/08
      45.   A PRETTY GOOD SYMBOLIC GESTURE 11:11  |  indrajaya 16/01/08
      46.   Clickfool is employed by Haaretz. 11:17  |  Levi 16/01/08
      47.   Evacuate the fornt line villages Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahya 11:26  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 16/01/08
      48.   #22 Clickfool 11:54  |  Sarah 16/01/08
      49.   Ignore Durson/ Clickfool 12:09  |  Bigfacedog 16/01/08
      50.   # 48 Sarah 12:15  |  Natallie Durson 16/01/08
      51.   # 48 Sarah , enough lowness around ! 12:16  |  Atilla 16/01/08
      52.   johnboy now let me help you here on kelloggs-briand 12:23  |  zevulun 16/01/08
      53.   johnboy "you dont understand kelloggs-briand" 12:29  |  zevulun 16/01/08
      54.   Sarah ! Sister 12:31  |  Atilla 16/01/08
      55.   Palestinians and Gaza 12:31  |  Jerome Bernier 16/01/08
      56.   Arab logic 12:35  |  Denise Thompson 16/01/08
      57.   You can take the Jew out of Galut 12:37  |  Shmuel 16/01/08
      58.   HAMAS ENTITLED TO RESPOND.. BUT IS LIMITED 12:41  |  Trojan 16/01/08
      59.   Jews: don`t utter a single word. Yesterday you were applauding! 12:42  |  Eric 16/01/08
      60.   Natallie Durson 12:44  |  Sarah 16/01/08
      61.   johnboy"it is true that if the aggressor wins then 12:46  |  zevulun 16/01/08
      62.   LOOK AT THAT BABY CLOTHES ! 12:52  |  ... 16/01/08
      63.   #52 I am dealing with an ignorant, petulant child.. 12:52  |  Johnboy 16/01/08
      64.   johnboy yalta and potsdam conferences 12:58  |  zevulun 16/01/08
      65.   #53 I will repeat again for a Very Slow zevulan 13:00  |  Johnboy 16/01/08
      66.   johnboy main gainers and losers of land through war 1945 13:03  |  zevulun 16/01/08
      67.   #61 Zevulan, trying it on again.... 13:08  |  Johnboy 16/01/08
      68.   Sarah 13:09  |  Natallie Durson 16/01/08
      69.   so johnboy you disown kelloggs briand 13:10  |  zevulun