Free Republic

JERUSALEM – An anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel Thursday, wounding two people, one of them critically, and prompting fierce Israeli retaliation that killed five Palestinians. Israel unleashed airstrikes and tank fire against Hamas targets across the border. It was the heaviest assault on the coastal territory since a broad military offensive two years ago. Besides the dead, more than 30 Palestinians were wounded, said Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmiya. He said one of the dead was a 50-year-old civilian who was sitting outside his home when he was struck by...

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched missile strikes that knocked out power to thousands of Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday as it pressed an offensive against cross-border rocket fire two weeks after its withdrawal from the territory. No rocket launchings were reported during the day after a pledge by militant groups to halt attacks condemned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as harming the national interest. The air raids took place just hours after Israel's army fired artillery shells into the Gaza Strip for the first time since the 1967 Middle East war, further aggravating tension on the fifth anniversary of a...

Last Update: 15/03/2004 04:06 IAF strike in Gaza City targets two Hamas weapons factories By Aluf Benn, Baruch Kra and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service The Israel Defense Forces spokesman early Monday confirmed that air force helicopters carried out strikes against targets in Gaza City, Israel Radio reported. The army said two buildings were targeted, which had been used by Hamas to manufacture arms and Qassam rockets, as well as mortar shells. The buildings were located in the Zeitun and Nasser neighborhoods of the city. Palestinian officers searching through the rubble of a Gaza City Hamas weapons factory...