Israeli air strikes pound Gaza after rocket attack

No group has claimed responsibility for a rocket that was fired into the southern Israeli city of Sderot.

Airstrikes explosion in Gaza
Reports of the Israeli air raids on northern Gaza began at around 10pm local time (7pm GMT) [File: Reuters]

The Israeli army has fired missiles into the northern Gaza Strip. A rocket was fired from the Palestinian territory into southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry said in a social media post that a 17-year-old Palestinian youth suffered a minor shrapnel injury in his foot during Sunday night’s attacks on several areas in the north of the strip.

Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said Israeli forces retaliated to the rocket attack by hitting targets of the Hamas movement, which governs the besieged Gaza Strip.

“In response to the rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) and tanks targeted two Hamas posts in the northern Gaza Strip,” Lerner said in a statement, according the the AFP news agency. 

No group claimed responsibility for the rocket that was fired into the southern Israeli city of Sderot. 

On July 2, Israeli air raids hit four sites in Gaza after a rocket struck a building in Sderot.

There were no casualties reported in either incident.

Israel ended its permanent military presence in the Gaza Strip in 2005 in what it called the “Gaza disengagement”.

However, the area remains effectively occupied as Israel retains control of its airspace, seafront and all vehicle access, blocking trade and free movement for the territory’s two million residents.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies