The Israeli army carried out three air raids on Hamas-run Gaza today in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, an army spokesman said. There were no reports of injuries from the strikes. Two raids hit smuggling tunnels on the territory's border with Egypt and one targeted a building that allegedly was used to store arms in Gaza City, the army said. Militants in the impoverished enclave fired two rockets into Israel early today, the army said. There were no injuries.
There have been repeated violations by both sides of tenuous ceasefires that Israel and Hamas separately announced on Jan 18 to end a 22-day war that the Jewish state unleashed on the territory in response to rocket fire. The war killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis and left large swathes of Gaza in ruins. Egypt has been brokering talks to turn the ceasefires into a lasting truce. * AFP
