The IAF retaliated on Friday afternoon and evening for the 3 rocket attacks which took place earlier on Friday.
Israel National News reports on
Israel's bombing of Gaza smuggling tunnels on Friday afternoon:
"Large secondary explosions were noticeable following part of the strikes, proving the presence of weapons and munitions," IDF spokesmen said.
In mid-January, as Israel ended Operation Cast Lead against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a Memo of Understanding with the United States. She said at the time, "For a cessation of hostilities to be durable, there must be an end to the smuggling of weapons into Gaza."
Then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the time that the memo "provides a series of steps that the U.S. and Israel will take to stem the flow of weapons and explosives into Gaza."
Mark Regev, spokesman for outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, pointed out Saturday night that an end to weapons smuggling was not a condition to the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead and that the Sabbath eve bombing of the tunnels was Israel's answer to Hamas.
An IDF spokeswoman said it could not clarify for publication if the Air Force knew ahead of time that the targeted tunnels were being used to transport more arms into Gaza at the time of the bombing.
The Jerusalem Post reports on
Friday night's IAF bombing raid:
Overnight, two weapons manufacturing facilities were destroyed in an aerial attack in the Jebalya refugee camp in the northern Strip. The IDF confirmed the strike.
Terrorists also fired two Kassam rockets and a mortar shell on Gaza belt communities during the Sabbath.
The Jerusalem Post report also notes:
A bomb exploded on the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Saturday afternoon, narrowly missing an army patrol vehicle which was passing by.
Nobody was hurt in the attack, and no damage was reported. Immediately following the explosion, IDF troops began searching the area for the gunmen who planted the device.
Meanwhile, Israel National News also reports that a
Grad rocket fell near Kibbutz Yavneh, northeast of Ashkelon and Ashdod in the the deepest rocket penetration ever from Gaza. The kibbutz is located northeast of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
