Israeli plane strikes Gaza after rocket fire

No casualties reported as Israel attacks Hamas targets in Palestinian territory for first time since war this summer.

A rocket landed in Eshkol, southern Israel, earlier on Friday [Reuters]

The Israeli military has attacked targets in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket launched from the Palestinian territory into Israel.

Friday’s air strikes were the first since the 50-day war this summer. 

A spokesman for Gaza’s health ministry said there were no casualties in the air attack.

The Israeli military said one of its aircraft targeted Hamas infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip.

Residents in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Israeli planes were flying low over the coastal enclave.

Israeli police said a rocket fired from Gaza earlier in the day fell on open ground in Eshkol, causing no injuries.

The military said it held Hamas responsible for the rocket attack.

Hamas and Israel agreed a ceasefire on August 26, brokered by Egypt, ending the war that resulted in the deaths of 2,140 Palestinians. Seventy-three Israelis were killed, most of them soldiers.

Cairo talks between Israel and Hamas to cement the fragile truce, due to be held last month, were called off by Egypt.

Aid delayed

Much of Gaza’s infrastructure, and hundreds of homes, were destroyed during the war.

Two months after donors pledged $5.4bn to help rebuild Gaza, officials say barely two percent of the money has been transferred.

At a conference in Cairo, Qatar promised $1bn, Saudi Arabia $500m and the United States and the European Union a combined $780m in various forms of assistance.

But of the total, only $100m or so has been received, according to UN and other officials. 

“That money will be largely finished in January 2015. We have a shortfall [for shelter and homes] of $620m and we are going to run out right in the hardest part of winter,” said Robert Turner, director of operations for the UN’s Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies