Southern Gaza hit by new Israeli air strikes

February 7, 2009

Israel launched several air strikes on Friday on an area near Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The strikes were aimed at a so-called "open area" near the border with Egypt. The strikes were in response to two rockets being fired into southern Israel.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told Agence France-Presse that the "planes attacked four tunnels that were dug under the border with Egypt and used for weapons smuggling."

"An arms depot was also targeted and the explosives that were stocked there exploded," the spokesperson said. The raids were "a response to the firing of two Palestinian rockets in the morning."

Reuters cited sources from Hamas, as well from among local residents, as saying that the strikes caused no injuries.