Gaza: 1 Hamas operative dead, 5 wounded in IAF strikes

Palestinian sources: Air strike wounds 3 gunmen; separate strike targets smuggling tunnel; rocket lands in open territory outside Beersheba.

By REUTERS, YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
IDF IAF fighter jet airstrike air strike 311 (R) (photo credit: Ho New / Reuters)
IDF IAF fighter jet airstrike air strike 311 (R)
(photo credit: Ho New / Reuters)
The Israel Air Force struck targets inside the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, killing one armed Hamas operative and wounding five others, Palestinian medical sources said.
They added that three Hamas operatives involved in firing rockets at Israel were hit in the first air strike, east of Gaza City, in a pre-dawn attack. One later died of his injuries, the Palestinians said.
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Three Palestinian civilians, among them a boy, were injured, the sources said, in a separate air strike that targeted a tunnel beneath Gaza's border with Egypt of a type Israel says is used to smuggle in weapons.
The IDF Spokesman's Office confirmed that  IAF struck five targets in the Strip. The statement added that the precision strikes were identified as hitting their targets.
Prior to the strikes, several terrorists were seen attempting to fire a rocket at Israel but were thwarted by the air force, the statement added.
The military action came in response to an attack several hours earlier, when a Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza fell outside of Beersheba on Monday night, activating air raid sirens and sending residents fleeing for cover.
A Negev police spokeswoman said that the rocket fired from Gaza landed in open territory. A police response team identified the rocket impact zone.
No injuries or damages were reported in the attack.
Last week, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired three mortar shells at the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council in the south overnight on Sunday.
The first shell exploded near a fence surrounding a kibbutz, damaging the structure. Two additional mortars exploded near a kibbutz. A rocket alert system was activated, sending residents fleeing for cover.
Due to the escalation in rocket fire from the Gaza Strip earlier in the month, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided at the time to deploy an Iron Dome anti-rocket defense battery outside the southern city of Ashkelon.
Close to 30 rockets were fired into Israel since the beginning of July.