Israel Launches Terror Air Strike on Gaza

Israel launched its first airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday since the Egyptian-mediated truce ended November’s eight-day bout of fighting.

“Occupation planes bombarded an open area in northern Gaza, there were no wounded,” the Hamas Interior Ministry said in a statement.

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed there had been a strike in Gaza, but gave no further details.

The airstrike came in response to the firing of a projectile from Gaza, which exploded on Tuesday in an open area of southern Israel’s Eshkol region. The explosion did not cause any injuries.

The IDF said it did not immediately know if the projectile was a mortar shell or a rocket.

Earlier on Tuesday, a mortar fired from Gaza and aimed at Israel failed to cross the border and reach its intended destination.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the projectiles.

Israel launched the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense in November in an effort to root out the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and bring about the end of the unremitting rocket attacks that had been launched against the Jewish state.

Israel carried out a series of targeted and highly surgical operations in order target the terrorists responsible for the attacks, all the while avoiding civilian casualties at all costs.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166716#.UVtttDe_NrQ