Israel Air Force bombs targets in Gaza following deadly terror attack

A day after a combined terror attacks that left 8 Israelis dead and more than 20 wounded, IAF jets target power plant, weapon manufacturing centers

By Anshel Pfeffer and Haaretz

The Israel Air Force bombed targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after coordinated terror attacks killed eight Israelis.

Meanwhile, Palestinian attacks on Israel continued as 10 Grad and Qasasm rockets were fired Friday morning at Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva and Kiryat Gat.

 

	Smoke rises after an explosion in a smuggling tunnel along the borders between Rafah and Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip April 8, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

IDF spokesman's office said in a statement that Israeli planes targeted weapon manufacturing centers in central Gaza Strip and two more sites in the north and south. "The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers," the statement read," and will continue to operate resolutely against anyone who terrorizes Israel. The Hamas terrorist organization is the address, and it bears the responsibility."

On Thursday, night IAF planes bombed central Gaza, hitting a power plant and causing a power outage in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

 

The terror attack along the Israeli-Egyptian border on Thursday was planned in the Gaza Strip by the Popular Resistance Committees and perpetrated by terrorists who crossed from Gaza into Sinai via smuggling tunnels. They then traveled some 200 kilometers to reach an area of the border protected only by a tattered wire fence, about 15 kilometers north of Eilat.

Israeli forces killed five of the terrorists, and Egyptian soldiers reportedly killed two more. But the Israel Defense Forces estimates that 15 to 20 participated in the attack, meaning most escaped.

IDF officials believe the goal of the attack was to kidnap a soldier. The IDF had previously responded to warnings of a planned attack, beefing up its forces in the area.