Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip

Israeli fighter jets have carried out an aerial attack against the Gaza Strip in yet another act of aggression against the blockaded coastal territory.

Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the airstrike struck a site belonging to Ezzedine Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, in the eastern Zeitoun neighborhood of the Gaza City in the early hours of Monday, Arabic-language Safa news agency reported.

There were no immediate reports about possible casualties from the Israeli attack.

Israeli military aircraft hit areas in the northern and central parts of the besieged Gaza Strip late on November 17. There were no reports about casualties and the extent of damage from those airstrikes.

Israeli sources claimed that the air raids were conducted in response to a rocket attack that had struck the southern part of the Israeli-occupied territories a few hours earlier, blaming the attack on Hamas.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

The Israeli regime denies about 1.8 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages and adequate healthcare and education.

Israel’s 50-day military aggression against the Gaza Strip started in early July and ended on August 26 last year with a truce that took effect after indirect negotiations in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. It left nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, dead. Over 11,100 others – including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people – were also wounded.

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