- 22 juli 2010
Two dead and four children injured in Israeli nail bomb attack in Beit Hanoun, Gaza
Sammah El-Massry, 9, critically injured in hospital
She came in through and it wasn't clear she was injured. Suddenly a lot of blood came from her nose and she vomited. All of the family saw this her little brothers were very scared. She had just been playing in the front of the house.
This is a mother describing to us her daughter, 9 year old Sammah as she came in to her home at 4pm after the Israeli army reportedly shelled and fired 4 bombs into and around a residential area in Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza. She is now in a semi-critical condition in hospital, suffering extensive blood loss and very low haemoglobin.
She was hit by shrapnel and flechettes from a nail bomb that landed 100m away, causing internal bleeding to the chest, severe head trauma and nails embedded in her body. She is one of 4 children injured in the attack yesterday, July 21st.
Four-year-old Haitham Thaer Qasem, injured by an Israeli nail bomb
Four-year-old Haitham Thaer Qasem, injured by an Israeli nail bomb
Two young men were killed:
1- Mohammad Al-Kafarneh, 23, from severe shrapnel injuries in his back and chest and
2- Kasim Al-Shinbary, 19, caused by injuries from nails embedded in his skull and shrapnel wounds to the back.
It was unclear earlier whether they were resistance fighters or if they were civilians the Israeli Occupation Force called them militants just as they called the four children, aged 4 to 11, who were left hospitalised by their injuries militants. Their parents could be found weeping over their loved ones in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City last night.
We first visited Haitham Thaer Qasem a four year old boy and a first and only child. He was sleeping on the hospital bed, occasionally gasping for breath through the strapping around his nose. He had suffered deep nasal trauma, and flechette darts from the nail bomb were still embedded in his tiny body, where they had pierced his back, right elbow and right leg. He was 200m from the impact of the bomb.
In his hospital ward his mother was standing to one side crying quietly and another relative at Haitham's bedside explained what had happened.
We had asked Haitham to get shopping for her from the market then we heard the bombings and somebody came to our home and told our family that he was in the hospital and was injured in the bombing. We came quickly to the hospital.
In a nearby ward we then visited 9 year old Sammah who was in a worse state.
The doctor told us she was in a semi-critical condition with severe chest, head and abdominal pain. Her blood-loss was a major concern, arriving at the hospital with 7.5 haemoglobin levels, 4-6 below the normal levels, the problem exacerbated by the fact that she, like three of her brothers, already suffered from a blood condition known as Thalassemia for which the drug Exjade is in extremely short supply due to the Israeli blockade.
She was clearly in pain and confused, trying to remove the nasal tubes. Her mother showed us the bandages on her chest.
She was in a very bad condition when she arrived it's difficult for children and very traumatic to insert a chest tube. Very painful. Blood was mainly coming from the chest. We will have to perform surgery and we will further explore her abdominal pain, the doctor tells us.
This is not the first time the family was attacked, Sammah's 4-year-old brother Ryad Eid El-Massry was injured during Operation Cast Lead, the 3 week Israeli assault over the New Year of 2009 period, during which over 400 Palestinian children were killed.
Our house was hit during the war, a neighbour sheltering inside was killed and our son suffered severe head injuries. He wasn't able to access the care he needed and because of this his sight is now permanently damaged.
As we left Sammah, she had begun to cry, moaning in serious discomfort and confusion. There were two more injured children in the hospital following the attack:
--Azzam Mohammed El-Massry (aged 11) has a severely fractured left elbow and
--Ebrahim Wasseem El-Massry (aged 4) has light injuries to his abdomen.
It's not just the siege. Criminal Israeli violence continues unabated, resulting in Palestinians in Gaza children like Sammah, Haitham, Azzam and Ebrahim and their families experiencing horrific pain and suffering. Last week it was the Abu Said family, attacked in their home on the border East of Gaza city; they lost Nema, a 33-year-old mother of five as she went outside to look frantically for her youngest son. Three more family members were also injured, again by the thousands of flechette darts unleashed by the nail bomb assault. Many of these darts will remain permanently embedded in their bodies.
Palestinians remain incredulous to the idea of justice. They will remain so as long as they're allowed to be dismissed as footnotes by those supporting, or blindly ignoring, what has happened to them and is being done to them. But those who meet them like we did yesterday will never forget what they go through. And people of conscience around the world are beginning to open their eyes instead of turning their backs and acting against these ongoing atrocities.
Israel illegally fired shrapnel bombs into children playing
(3:19) Israel illegally fired shrapnel bombs into children playing
29 oct 2012, 11:16 , Respect -
Maria 22 juli 2010
Palestinian Beaten To Near Death For Talking To A Jewish Woman
Tiberias -PNN - A 23 year old Palestinian man received very serious injuries for allegedly talking to a Jewish woman in Tiberias Tuesday night.
The attack on the young man occurred at a gas station in Tiberias. Superintendent Jacky Dan of Tiberias Police said that the young Arab man, who resides with his family in Tiberias, was talking to a girl he knew prior to the assault.
The suspect arrived at the site and the young Palestinian man then exchanged words. The suspect angrily proceeded to hit the Arab in the head.
The Arab was beaten with a heavy metal object, which the suspect held inside a plastic bag. The victim then lost consciousness and was rushed to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
The victim had been admitted into the neurosurgical intensive care unit and since then he has regained consciousness. The medical unit is claiming that the young Palestinians condition is stable.
'Arab man attacked for talking to Jewish girl'
Twenty-three year old rushed to hospital unconscious after being beaten with heavy metal object at Tiberias gas station, sustaining serious injuries. Suspect yet to be apprehended
A 23-year-old Arab man sustained serious injuries after being attacked in Tiberias, allegedly for talking to a young Jewish woman. Police are still searching for the suspected assailant, a 19-year-old who fled the scene.
According to police, it is not yet clear whether the attack was nationalistically motivated and whether there was any connection between the suspect and the young woman.
The attack occurred on Tuesday night in a gas station in Tiberias. Superintendent Jacky Dan of Tiberias Police told Ynet that the investigation indicates that the young Arab man, who resides with his family in the city, was talking to a girl he knew prior to the assault.
The suspect arrived at the site and the two got into an argument. The suspect angrily asked on what right was the victim talking to the woman and proceeded to hit him in the head.
According to police estimates, the Arab was beaten with a heavy metal object, which the suspect held inside a plastic bag. The victim then lost consciousness and was rushed to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
The hospital stated that the victim was admitted into the neurosurgical intensive care unit and has since regained consciousness. His condition is stable.
Superintendent Dan said that police are familiar with the suspect and are searching for him.
29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 22 juli 2010
IDF kills Palestinian infiltrating West Bank settlement Barkan
IDF opens fire at group of Palestinians breaking into settlement, apparently for criminal and not terror-related purposes, IDF spokesperson's office confirms.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers fired at a group of Palestinians attempting to infiltrate the West Bank settlement of Barkan late Wednesday, killing one of them. The casualty was apparently armed, the DF spokesperson's office said.
Another Palestinian was arrested and taken into IDF custody for questioning. Soldiers are currently scanning the area for further suspects, and both the army and Palestinian officials are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
The Palestinians apparently penetrated the settlement for criminal and not terror-related purposes, the IDF said.
Due to recurring attempts by Palestinians to infiltrate the fenced-off settlement, the soldiers had been patrolling the area for several weeks, the IDF spokesperson's office said.
Earlier Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces troops fired at suspected militants that had approached Gaza's northern border with Israel. Two suspected militants reportedly killed in the incident.
According to Palestinian sources, one militant was killed on the spot, while the second succumbed to his wounds several hours after the incident.
Six militants remained hospitalized, the sources reported.
According to initial reports, Israeli tanks targeted a suspected militant squad after receiving reports that a squad near the northern Strip town of Beit Hanoun had intended to fire an anti-tank missile toward another IDF unit.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on suspects approaching a border fence but had no further comment. Palestinian medical workers claimed 7 people were wounded, including a 10-year-old girl. No other details were immediately released.
Palestinian shot dead in West Bank by Israeli soldiers
The man was shot in Barkan (left), close to the Palestinian village of Khirbet Bani Hassan (top left)
A Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli troops after entering a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
The man was killed on Thursday morning in Barkan, west of the city of Nablus.
An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers identified two Palestinian intruders, one of whom they suspected to be armed.
After warning the men, the troops opened fire, killing one man while the other fled, said the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
'Joint investigation'
The spokesman said: "A night watch that was set by the IDF because of numerous attempts made to infiltrate the [Barkan] community in the past few weeks identified last night's attempt.
map
"The force identified the infiltrators, one of them suspected to be armed and opened fire. One of the infiltrators died as a result, and the other escaped."
The spokesman added that Palestinian officials had agreed to carry out a "joint investigation" into the incident.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International has called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes and other buildings in the West Bank.
It says the Israeli army has destroyed 74 Palestinian-owned buildings in the Jordan Valley area this week, displacing more than a hundred people, half of whom are children.
Israeli officials said the buildings were in a closed military zone. But Palestinians say Israel has no right to close off parts of the West Bank in this way.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967, settling close to 500,000 Jews in more than 100 settlements. There are about 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.
Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 23 juli 2010
Ramallah: Settlers burn olive trees under military guard
29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 24 juli 2010
USA says Israel can start war with Iran
(2:54) USA says Israel can start war with Iran
Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. The resolution, H.Res. 1553, provides explicit support for military strikes against Iran, stating that Congress supports Israel's use of "all means necessary" against Iran "including the use of military force". US military leaders have warned that strikes could be catastrophic to US national security interests and could engulf the Middle East in a "calamitous" regional war.
Nearly a third of House Republicans have signed onto the resolution, which has been publicly discussed and circulated by its lead sponsor, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), for months.
WAR!!! US Congress Bill to Green-light Israeli Attack on Iran
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light a possible Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.
Resolution 1553 provides explicit support for military strikes against Iran, stating that Congress backs Israel's use of 'all means necessary' against Iran, 'including the use of military force,' BBC Persian reported.
The introduction of the measure coincides with a pattern of renewed calls for military strikes that have escalated since President Obama signed Congressional Iran sanctions into law.
Neoconservatives who were instrumental in orchestrating the Iraq War, such as Bill Kristol and Reuel Marc Gerecht, have led the stepped up calls for military action.
http://fwd4.me/0AqY 29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 24 juli 2010
IOF detains a bus, injures a child
Hebron, July 24, (Pal Telegraph) A Palestinian child was injured during the Israeli occupation soldiers inspection and detention to a bus at dawn today, attacking and severely beating the passengers at a checkpoint, located at the entrance to Hebron in the West Bank.
Israeli Police said in a statement released to the press today, that the Israeli occupation soldiers stationed at the checkpoint at the entrance of Hebron held a bus from Ramallah and attacked the occupants, wounding a child in the attack aging no more than two years, he was moderately wounded in his head, while the Israeli occupation soldiers released the bus at one o'clock in the morning.
On the other hand, the Israeli police delivered summoning warrants for Palestinian citizens to attend an interview for the Israeli intelligence in the provinces of Qalqilya, Salfit and the town of Deir Estia.
http://fwd4.me/0APd 29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 24 juli 2010
Settlers erect Hebron outpost, arrests during clashes
29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2012, 11:17 , Respect -
Maria 26 juli 2010
Israeli Planes Pound Southern Gaza
Israel war planes have launched an airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip, targeting Palestinian tunnels across the border between the blockaded enclave and Egypt.
Missiles from Israeli aircraft destructed two tunnels early on Monday, but left no casualties, AFP quoted Palestinian security officials as saying.
Israel frequently strikes the tunnels in the Hamas-run coastal enclave while an Israeli blockade has pushed the populated territory on the verge of a humanitarian crisis with almost half of its 1.5 million residents depending on food aid handouts.
Tel Aviv's crippling siege has left Gazans with no other option but to set up a network of tunnels on the border with Egypt, which in collaboration with Israel keeps the Rafah border crossing -- the only terminal not in Israel control -- sealed off.
Israel accuses the Palestinians of using the burrows to smuggle weapons for the resistance movements in the region.
But the Palestinians dismiss the claim, saying the tunnels are used to push in Gazans' very basic needs, including food and fuel.
Israel eased its land blockade of the Gaza Strip to soothe the international outrage sparked by its deadly attack on an aid convoy on May 31, while its naval blockade remain fast in place. It has vowed to stop any other aid ship trying to break the siege on Gaza.
The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was stormed in international waters by Israeli navy commandos who killed nine Turkish activists onboard the civilian convoy.
Egypt also made an effort to brush away a picture where Cairo is viewed as Israel's main accomplice in its siege of Gaza and indefinitely opened its Rafah crossing.
http://fwd4.me/0ARh 29 oct 2012, 11:24 , Respect -
Maria 26 juli 2010
Six hurt in clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank
Hebron report: military violenty repress protests, following heightened wave of settler violence
Settlers Attacks Reported In Northern West Bank
Settlers riot near Huwwara checkpoint
Top settler rabbi arrested for allegedly inciting to kill non-Jews
Fresh settler attacks in Nablus area
29 oct 2012, 11:24 , Respect -
Maria 27 juli 2010
No Words to Console Gaza Child
Darts fired by Israeli tanks shells are removed from the walls of the Abu Said family home in Gaza.
The Abu Said family are Bedouin whose isolated farm is located near Gaza's boundary with Israel in the vicinity of Johr al-Dik. For the last forty years, the family never had any major problems with their belligerent Israeli neighbors. Abu Said, the family patriarch, explained that after the first and second Palestinian intifadas and following the start of the siege on Gaza, the threat of being shot by Israeli soldiers forced him to stop cultivating plots of land closest to the border.
Twenty years ago, the family could still plough their property near the border, while in recent times they've had to retreat 400 meters, with considerable losses to their harvest. Beautiful orchards brimming with fruit once prospered; now even the trees roots are gone.
In spite of the farm's unfortunate location, none of the family members were killed or injured during Israel's 2008-09 winter invasion. However, this year, Israel's brutal policies and actions affected the family directly.
Around 8:45pm on 13 July, 2010, a few of the women of the family were enjoying the cool of the evening in the courtyard in front of their house. They heard a muffled shooting sound, followed soon after by another, and then by a loud buzzing noise, as if a swarm of insects was approaching at full speed. The facade of their home was reduced to Swiss cheese and the flesh of the women was attacked.
Without provocation, an Israeli tank fired two artillery shells at the family's home. Amira Jaber Abu Said, 30, was hit and wounded in the shoulder by a piece of shrapnel and by steel darts, called flechettes. Her sister-in-law, 26-year-old Sanaa Ahmed Abu Said, was wounded in the foot. Panicking, they took shelter inside their home and called an ambulance.
Meanwhile, from the direction of the nearby military turret, an Israeli armor-plated vehicle was stationed underneath and a machine gun was still shooting toward the family and continued to do so for a solid ten minutes.
After being delayed for 15 minutes by Israeli troops, ambulances reached the family farm. However, the paramedics were forced to flee as soon as they arrived under threat of Israeli fire.
Ali Abu Said, a family member, said in an interview "After Amira and Saana were wounded, we continued to call for the Re Crescent ambulance. After 15 minutes the paramedics arrived in our area, but they told us they couldn't get to our house because the Israeli soldiers wouldn't given them permission. They threatened to shoot them if they had gotten near. They've had to go back to where they'd come from, in Deir al-Balah."
After an hour of apparent calm, Nema Abu Said, a 33-year-old mother of five, realized that her youngest child, Nader, was still asleep outside the family home. Nema rushed out to find Nader when another dull shot was heard and she was hit by a round of flechettes, and was killed on the spot. Her brother-in-law, Jaber Abu Said, 65, was wounded by flechettes in his right thigh.
One of Nema's children stands outside the family's home
The family continued to call in vain for ambulances. The Israeli military allowed a Red Crescent ambulance to enter the area two hours later and retrieve the dead woman and three injured family members.
Israel's winter invasion, dubbed "Operation Cast Lead," resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom were civilians, including more than 300 children. On 27 January, 2009, Amnesty International compiled a list of prohibited weapons that the Israeli forces used against the population of Gaza.
Flechettes are small metallic daggers with barbed points, four centimeters long with four small fins in the back. According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, flechettes are loaded into shells fired by tanks. When the shells explode in mid-air, 30 meters from the ground, they propel a swarm of 5,000 to 8,000 flechettes, covering a cone-shaped radius, 300 meters wide and 100 meters long.
Although flechette shells are considered an illegal weapon, Israel continues to use them. In 2002, the Israeli high court rejected a petition presented by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights to end use of the flechettes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Flechettes were also used by Israel during is July 2006 invasion of Lebanon.
On 5 January 2009, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, numerous flechette shells were fired onto a main street, killing two civilians. Wafa Nabil Abu Jarad, a 21-year-old mother expecting twins, and 16-year-old Islam Jaber Abd al-Dayem were both killed by the darts.
Similarly, on 16 April 2008, Fadel Shana, a cameraman for Reuters news agency and two children nearby were also killed by flechettes. Shana was filming in Johr al-Dik, a few hundred meters from the Abu Said family's farm, when he was hit by a tank shell.
In spite of the attack and Nema's death, the Abu Said family will remain on the farm. They will do this out of a sense of pride, a desire to live and die on their own property, and because they have nowhere else to go.
Jaber, a member of the Abu Said family and a survivor of the attack, explained: "No form of resistance activity has ever taken place anywhere near our farm, ever. No threat whatsoever to Israel and its soldiers exists. I really don%u2019t understand why they've done this to us."
Meanwhile, young Nader asks relatives and visitors about his mother. None of his relatives have yet found the right words to explain to this innocent child what happened to his mother. Do those words actually exist?
All images by Vittorio Arrigoni.
Vittorio Arrigoni has worked as a human rights activist for more than a decade. He lived in Gaza until September 2009. As an activist with the International Solidarity Movement and freelance journalist with the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto he has provided eyewitness accounts for the world to read and is author of the book Gaza: Stay Human.
29 oct 2012, 11:24 , Respect -
Maria 27 juli 2010
Settlers launch new attack, setting fire to land and olive trees and throwing rocks
North remains target for settler violence, breaking windows of homes and cars, set fire to several dunums of olive groves
Settlers block West Bank roads to protest construction freeze
29 oct 2012, 11:24 , Respect -
Maria 28 juli 2010
White phosphorus burns
(2:52) White Phosphorus burns on a Palestinian boy reported by The Guardian
(The Lancet) In January, 2009, an 18-year-old man presented to the emergency department after suffering an attack with an incendiary shell. He had many painful patches of full-thickness burns, which were surrounded by sloughed tissue. His wounds covered 30% of his body surface area, and were distributed on both upper and lower limbs, and his right shoulder.
There were no signs of inhalation burns. After a clinical diagnosis of white phosphorus burns was made, the airway was secured, resuscitation fluid was initiated, and wounds were irrigated with diluted sodium bicarbonate solution before wet dressing.
1 day after admission to the burns unit, white smoke was noticed emanating from the wounds, which now contained extensive necrotic tissue and had extended into the underlying tissue.
He was urgently transferred to the operating room for debridement and excision of necrotic tissue, and removal of white phosphorus particles. During debridement, a white phosphorus particle was accidentally dislodged resulting in a superficial burn on a nurse's neck.
We transferred our patient to the intensive care unit for monitoring of vital signs, electrolyte disturbance (in particular hypocalcaemia), and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes.
After 8 days in hospital, our patient was relatively well, and was discharged without any systemic complications.
At 16-month follow-up, our patient was well; however, hypertrophic, mildly tender scars remained on his chest, arm, and thigh.
White phosphorus is a smoke-producing, waxy, yellow transparent combustible solid, [1] which is used mainly in military and industrial settings. In the presence of oxygen, it spontaneously ignites with a yellow flame and produces dense smoke; it extinguishes only when deprived of oxygen or totally consumed. [2]
On contact with exposed skin, white phosphorus produces painful chemical burns; [3] these typically appear as yellowish, necrotic, full-thickness lesions due to both chemical and thermal components. Because white phosphorus has high lipid solubility, the injuries often extend deep into underlying tissues with resultant delayed wound healing.
White phosphorus can also be absorbed systemically resulting in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome because of its effect on erythrocytes, kidneys, liver, and heart. [2[/b]],[b][4]
First aid management of white phosphorus burns includes removal of the patient's clothes and application of saline or a water-soaked dressing.
[1] On the basis of animal studies and case reports, in the emergency department, continuous irrigation with water is recommended to minimise the complications of the burn, [1], [2], [4] and large easily identifiable particles of white phosphorus should be debrided. Wood lamp (ultraviolet light) or a solution of 0·5% copper sulphate can be used to facilitate the extinction of embedded particles. [4]
In critically ill patients, excision of the necrotic tissue and skin grafting, plus appropriate fluid replacement, and close monitoring of electrolytes and ECG are required to avoid predictable complications like hypocalcaemia, hyperphosphataemia, and cardiac arrhythmia.
White phosphorus burns are associated with significant morbidity often necessitating lengthy hospital stays. Extreme cases can be fatal. We cannot give an estimate of the number of such cases in our burns unit because it is in a war situation in which no formal recording was done; these burns are rarely encountered in practice and literature describing cases is limited.
According to the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons it is prohibited to make civilians the object of attack by incendiary weapons.
Contributors Patient management: NS, SS, LB; writing the report: LB, NB. Written consent to publish was obtained.
[2] Eldad A, Simon GA. The phosphorous burn-a preliminary comparative experimental study of various forms of treatment. Burns 1991; 17: 198-200. CrossRef | PubMed
[3] Chou TD, Lee TW, Chen SL, et al. The management of white phosphorus burns. Burns 2001; 27: 492-497. CrossRef | PubMed
[4] Davis KG. Acute management of white phosphorus burn. Mil Med 2002; 167: 83-84. PubMed a Faculty of Medicine, Al Quds University, Abu-Deis, Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory b Department of Surgery, Shifa Medical Centre, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory c Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, Shifa Medical Centre, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory d Al Nasser Pediatric Hospital, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory Correspondence to: Loai Nabil Al Barqouni, Faculty of Medicine, Al Quds University, Abu-Deis, Jerusalem, 00970 occupied Palestinian territory.
http://fwd4.me/0inA 29 oct 2012, 11:25 , Respect -
Maria 28 juli 2010
Settlers riot in Burin, hurl stones toward Palestinians
29 juli 2010
Police, settlers take over Jerusalem home
29 oct 2012, 11:25 , Respect -
Maria 30 juli 2010
Israel launches Gaza Strip air strikes
Israel has launched air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip, reports say.
Palestinian witnesses reported numerous explosions in Gaza City, and several people were reported to have been injured.
The strikes came after a rocket fired from the coastal enclave by militants earlier on Friday hit the Israeli city of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast.
That attack caused no casualties but damaged a building and cars in the city, 12km (7 miles) north of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said he took the rocket attack on Ashkelon - which has a population of 125,000 - "very seriously".
The city's mayor said the attack was the most serious since Israel ended an offensive against the Gaza Strip in January 2009.
Israel's military has yet to comment on the reported air strikes.
Rocket fire from Gaza has reduced in the past year after Hamas - the Islamist group which controls the territory - reined in attacks, but sporadic fire from other militant groups continues.
Correspondents say such attacks are almost always ineffective, with rockets mostly landing in open fields.
One Thai farmer in Israel has been killed in the past year.
Dozens of Palestinians, some of them civilians, have been killed in attacks from Israel over the same period.
Israeli jets strike Gaza
Israel has launched air attacks against targets in the Gaza Strip, injuring eight Palestinians, medical sources have said.
Sami Zyara, a Palestinian journalist in the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that at least two rockets launched on Friday targeted a police training centre run by Hamas.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Earlier on Friday, Palestinian fighters launched a rocket into the city of Ashkelon on Israel's Mediterranean coast, causing some damage but no injuries.
There are also reports that israeli rockets have hit smuggling tunnels on the border with Egypt, without causing casualties.
"This attack came after rockets were fired at Ashkelon," Zyara said.
He said that injuries were less than they could have been, given the crowded area that was hit, because Palestinians expected that "Israel would retaliate" for the attack on Askkelon.
"None of the Palestinian groups declared responsibility for that attack," he said.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said that "Israel takes the firing on Ashkelon very seriously".
http://fwd4.me/0Aqx
30 juli 2010
Report: Settler violence continues in south Hebron hills
Settlers attack Burin village, fires spread
Nine Palestinian families spent their first night in the open air on Thursday, after being forced out of their homes by Israeli settlers