Cat and mouse game? IAF attacks terror targets in Gaza after missiles come dangerously close to Israel’s industrial heartland.
by Elad Benari
Published: 05/08/11, 6:00 AM
IAF Counterstrike (Gaza)
Israel news photo: Flash 90
In what has become routine over the past several days, the IDF struck terror targets in Gaza early Friday morning.
All the targets were hit and all planes safely returned to their base, the Spokesman said.
The attacks came after terrorists upped the offensive on Thursday and neared Israel’s industrial heartland with two missile attacks on Kiryat Gat, home to a huge Intel factory. No one was injured.
Kiryat Gat is located halfway between Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, and Rehovot, the southern edge of metropolitan Tel Aviv. Hamas has not struck Kiryat Gat since Israel’s counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead campaign two and a half years ago.
The IDF Spokesman said that IAF aircraft attacked three terror tunnels in northern Gaza, a center of terror activity in central Gaza, and an additional terrorist target in southern Gaza.
Unlike previous incidents, this time the IAF targeted right away the launch site where the terror squad which had fired the rocket was located. Military sources reported, however, that the squad members were seen fleeing the scene.
Three other rockets exploded on Thursday south of the port city of Ashkelon, where oil and natural gas facilities are located. One other rocket exploded between Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat Wednesday night.
Hamas has slowly escalated the number of its rocket attacks in the past month, attacking Israel with four times the number of missiles than it did in June.
