Israeli rocket attack on Gaza injures two

An Israeli military aircraft fired three missiles at a group of Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip on Monday, missing them but wounding two passersby, witnesses and security sources said.


An Israeli military source confirmed the air strike on Jabalya refugee camp east of Gaza City.


"A terrorist cell was identified preparing to launch a mortar attack," the source said. "The air force targeted the launchers, and at least two were hit."


Israel has largely scaled back its operations against a 4 1/2-year-old Palestinian uprising in occupied Gaza and the West Bank under a ceasefire declared last February.


But violence has simmered in Gaza, which Israel plans to quit beginning mid-August.


An Islamic militant was killed on Sunday when a rocket he was trying to shoot at a Jewish settlement in central Gaza misfired. Four Gaza militants also died over the weekend when explosives they were handling blew up prematurely.


- REUTERS