Asia

Asia

Israel, Palestinian militants trade fire at Gaza border

11 September 2010 02:09 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. There have been exchanges of fire near the Israel-Gaza border, wounding five Palestinians and damaging property, APA reports quoting BBC.
Militants in Gaza have fired at least five rockets or mortar rounds into Israel since Monday.
Israel said it struck two Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip late on Thursday, but Palestinian officials said five people were hurt in four separate air raids.
Hours later, on Friday, Gaza militants again fired a rocket into southern Israel, a military spokeswoman said.
The rocket exploded in the southern Shaar Hanegev area close to Gaza’s north-eastern border with Israel. Two days ago, a mortar shell landed near a kindergarten in the same community.
There were no reports of injuries or damage in either attack.
The Hamas government has vowed to try and rein in the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip following Israel’s assault on Gaza in the winter of 2008.
The latest exchanges come as Israeli and Palestinian leaders prepare to hold direct peace talks in Egypt on Tuesday.
The talks - which kicked off in Washington last week - are the first direct negotiations between the two sides in almost two years.