Israel's Gaza Strike Sets Off New Violence

Palestinians retaliate with nearly 100 rockets
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 10, 2012 6:17 AM CST
Israel's Gaza Strike Sets Off New Violence
Palestinians gather around the wreckage of a car targeted in an airstrike in Gaza City that killed top Palestinian militant commander Zuhair al-Qaissi.   (AP photo/Hatem Moussa)

Israel's killing of a militant commander in the Gaza Strip yesterday has led to renewed violence along the border. Palestinians have fired nearly 100 rockets into Israel, wounding at least one civilian seriously, while Israeli airstrikes have killed 14 militants, reports AP. Palestinians said 20 civilians have been injured. Israel's initial strike killed Zuhair al-Qaissi, the leader of the militant wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, a group with strong ties to Hamas. It was Israel's highest-profile killing in Gaza in months.

Palestinian militants had fired about 50 rockets and mortar shells into Israel in recent months, causing little damage and no casualties, but with Palestinians furious over the killing of al-Qaissi, Israeli officials told residents within 25 miles of Gaza to refrain from outdoor events today. (More Gaza Strip stories.)

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