Palestinian gunners in the Gaza Strip bombarded southern Israel with dozens of mortars and rockets on Wednesday, sowing panic and despair there. No Israelis were injured in the barrages.
Hamas, according to the AP, said the bombardment came in retaliation for the deaths of three fighters in a clash with Israeli troops late Tuesday. Israel said the Palestinians were planting explosives along the Gaza border fence. About 60 rockets and mortars pelted southern Israel by midafternoon Wednesday, the military said. A factory, a home and other structures were damaged.
Rockets reached as far as Beit Hagdi, a small community about 20 kilometers from Gaza City, the military said.
In Gaza, meanwhile, medical sources said Iyad Dremly, a Palestinian attorney who works for the Palestinian Center for Conflict Resolution, was badly injured in a blast that ripped through his two-story apartment building in Gaza City. Two other civilians were wounded when a rocket landed on another house several miles to the north in Beit Lahiya, the health sources reported.
On his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday's violence "unfortunate and difficult" and encouraged a renewal of the calm. "Our people are facing attacks and blockade, we are making all efforts for a full truce and for the security situation to calm down," he said.
