Israeli air strikes kill nine militants

The exchange of cross-border attacks this weekend comes after two months of relative quiet

A spiralling round of Israeli air strikes and rocket fire from Gaza claimed the lives of nine Palestinian militants and one Israeli civilian on Saturday following weeks of relative calm.

The Israeli air force targeted a group of militants in southern Gaza on Saturday morning that it said was preparing to launch long-range missiles into Israel. Five Islamic Jihad operatives were killed, including a senior commander, Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil.

A salvo of missiles later struck southern Israel, triggering air raid sirens and causing the death of a man in Ashkelon, about 10 miles north of Gaza. Four other Israelis were sustained light to moderate injuries. More than 20 rockets were fired in total on Saturday, according to the Israeli military.

The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of air strikes on Saturday evening, in which a further four militants were killed.

Egypt was reported to be attempting to broker a ceasefire to prevent further escalation.

"Egypt will pursue its contacts with all the sides until the agreement goes into effect," according to an Egyptian official quoted by Reuters.

However rocket fire continued on Sunday morning and schools in southern Israeli towns and cities said they would be closed.

The Israeli Defence Forces said that its first air strike on Saturday targeted a squad responsible for the firing of a Grad missile last Wednesday, which fell in an open area and caused no casualties nor damage. No Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility for the launch.

This weekend's exchange of cross-border attacks punctuated around two months of quiet since a deadly confrontation in August following a militant attack near the Israel-Egypt border in which eight Israelis were killed.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, called for an end to this weekend's exchanges of fire.

Hamas has larg! ely adhe red to a ceasefire that came into effect at the end of a three-week war in Gaza in January 2009. However, smaller militant groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees have continued sporadic rocket fire.

The release less than two weeks ago of 477 Palestinian militants as part of a deal to free the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been criticised by some prominent figures in Israel as being too heavy a price and for giving a political boost to Hamas. Many of the released prisoners were from or deported to Gaza.

A further 550 prisoners are due to be released under the terms of the deal in the next six weeks. There was some speculation that Israel could block their release in response to continued rocket fire.


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