Israeli warplanes raid Gaza

m4 March 06, 2011

Raids on northern and central Gaza Strip as well as Gaza City cause damages but no injuries.

Last Modified: 06 Mar 2011 02:03 GMT

Israeli warplanes have launched a series of air raids on Gaza City, medics and witnesses have said.

Saturday's airstrikes were carried out on different targets in northern and central Gaza Strip as well as in Gaza City.

Adham Abu Selmeya, Gaza emergency chief, told reporters that no injuries were reported. The explosions kept the population awake.

Three of the raids targetted bases of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

These attacks caused significant damage both to the targets and to neighbouring houses. Two other raids targetted the north and south of the city.

An Israeli army statement said it had carried out three air raids, and two had targeted "terrorist targets" in the central Gaza Strip.

A third had been on a tunnel intended for armed raids into Israel or operations against army positions along the border with the Gaza Strip, the statement said.

The army said the raids had come after a rocket was fired on Saturday from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.

"This morning a rocket fired from Gaza fell in the western sector of the Negev [desert in southern Israel], without causing any casualties or damage," an army spokeswoman said earlier.

The attacks have continued despite calls by Hamas for armed groups to respect a truce with Israel.