IAF strike on Gaza thwarts attempted rocket launch

IDF strikes in Gaza after earlier attack killed 2 Islamic Jihad operatives; Palestinians claim two more killed in 2nd strike.

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST.COM STAFF
IAF strike in Gaza 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IAF strike in Gaza 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israel Air Force struck targets in the Gaza Strip for a second time on Monday evening after an earlier attack killed two Islamic Jihad operatives.
Palestinian sources claimed that the IAF strike killed two additional Palestinians in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, bringing the total number of dead killed in air strikes on Monday to four. The IDF Spokesman's Office stated that the airstrike targeted terrorists in the midst of firing a rocket at Israeli civilians.
The Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency reported that the second airstrike killed two civilians and wounded three other people.
The IDF said that the two Islamic Jihad men killed in the earlier airstrike were part of a terror cell responsible for recent shooting attacks along the border. The IAF targeted the men while they were driving on a motorbike in northern Gaza.
In late May, an IDF officer and soldier were shot and wounded by a sniper and last week, shots were fired at an Israeli farmer working in his field near the border.
The airstrike came several hours after an attack against Israeli construction workers along Israel’s border with Egypt but the IDF said that the two incidents were not connected.
The Palestinian Ma’an News Agency identified the men as Muhammad Shabat and Ismael Abu Ouda in their 20s. It said that both were members of Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades and were on their way to perpetrate an attack against Israel.