Home
Politics
And the Israeli military promised to probe the deaths of Egyptian policemen killed the previous day as Israeli forces pursued the militants in the frontier zone.
Official Egyptian media said Cairo had complained to Israel over the incident.
While Israeli aircraft hit Gaza on Friday, Palestinians fired a steady hail of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, at least 25 since the start of the day, the military said.
Three Israelis were wounded in the city of Ashdod, police said.
An Israeli strike on the northern Gaza Strip killed a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, which Israel blames for the ambushes on its citizens in the southern Negev desert on Thursday. The group named him as Samed Abed, 25.
It said a raid on the Gaza City neigbourhood of Zeitun took the life of PRC member 22-year-old Mohammed Enaya and medics said another person was injured there and two seriously hurt in nearby Tofah.
Palestinian medical officials said two more men were killed in a missile strike as they rode a motorcyle in the vicinity of the Bureij refugee camp.
The Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the militant Islamic Jihad, said one of the men was their activist Emad Abu Abda. The identity of the second and his possible affiliations were not immediately known.
Israeli public radio said both were PRC members.
The Israeli military said in a series of statements that during the course of the afternoon and evening, aircraft hit "weapons manufacturing sites", "terror activity" sites and "a squad of terrorists ... shortly after they launched rockets at Israel".
The strikes raised to 11 the total number of Gazans killed since Thursday evening, when Israel began retaliating for the Negev shootings. Medics said 40 were injured.
London-based rights group Amnesty International called for both sides to safeguard civilian lives.
"The escalating attacks underline the need for both sides to the conflict to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties," it said in a statement.
Israel killed five PRC members in a punitive air raid on Thursday but a PRC spokesman on Friday denied responsibilty for the desert ambushes.
On Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that Thursday's raid on the PRC was "just the first response."
In Thursday's attack, at least seven gunmen armed with explosives, grenades and other weaponry, sneaked into southern Israel and fired at cars and buses, killing six Israeli civilians, a soldier and a policeman.
Several hours later Israel bombed targets in Rafah, killing the PRC leader and several more of the faction's top cadres, as well as a toddler. Another person died in an overnight air raid.
Israeli and Egyptian forces swept the frontier on Friday hunting for any gunmen who may have escaped.
An Israeli military spokesman, while not confirming or denying that an Egyptian complaint had been received, said events on the border would be closely investigated.
"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will investigate the matter thoroughly and update the Egyptians," he said.
The Egyptian military said the policemen were caught in the line of fire as an Israeli helicopter targeted the militants.
Security officials, however, gave a higher toll, saying five policemen were killed by gunfire from unknown assailants.
Egyptian government officials and leading politicians condemned the killing of the policemen, insisting that there must be a reaction.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said on his Facebook page that "Egyptian blood is too precious to be spilled without a response."
"I am currently discussing available options regarding the deaths of noble Egyptian troops," he said.
Amr Mussa, who has emerged as a leading presidential candidate after stepping down as Arab League chief earlier this year, lamented Thursday's deaths of up to five policemen and said "there must be a reaction."
"The blood of these conscripts is not cheap. All parties, including Israel, have to be warned against harming Egyptian soldiers," he said.
Official Egyptian media said Cairo had complained to Israel over the incident.
While Israeli aircraft hit Gaza on Friday, Palestinians fired a steady hail of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, at least 25 since the start of the day, the military said.
Three Israelis were wounded in the city of Ashdod, police said.
An Israeli strike on the northern Gaza Strip killed a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, which Israel blames for the ambushes on its citizens in the southern Negev desert on Thursday. The group named him as Samed Abed, 25.
It said a raid on the Gaza City neigbourhood of Zeitun took the life of PRC member 22-year-old Mohammed Enaya and medics said another person was injured there and two seriously hurt in nearby Tofah.
Palestinian medical officials said two more men were killed in a missile strike as they rode a motorcyle in the vicinity of the Bureij refugee camp.
The Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the militant Islamic Jihad, said one of the men was their activist Emad Abu Abda. The identity of the second and his possible affiliations were not immediately known.
Israeli public radio said both were PRC members.
The Israeli military said in a series of statements that during the course of the afternoon and evening, aircraft hit "weapons manufacturing sites", "terror activity" sites and "a squad of terrorists ... shortly after they launched rockets at Israel".
The strikes raised to 11 the total number of Gazans killed since Thursday evening, when Israel began retaliating for the Negev shootings. Medics said 40 were injured.
London-based rights group Amnesty International called for both sides to safeguard civilian lives.
"The escalating attacks underline the need for both sides to the conflict to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties," it said in a statement.
Israel killed five PRC members in a punitive air raid on Thursday but a PRC spokesman on Friday denied responsibilty for the desert ambushes.
On Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that Thursday's raid on the PRC was "just the first response."
In Thursday's attack, at least seven gunmen armed with explosives, grenades and other weaponry, sneaked into southern Israel and fired at cars and buses, killing six Israeli civilians, a soldier and a policeman.
Several hours later Israel bombed targets in Rafah, killing the PRC leader and several more of the faction's top cadres, as well as a toddler. Another person died in an overnight air raid.
Israeli and Egyptian forces swept the frontier on Friday hunting for any gunmen who may have escaped.
An Israeli military spokesman, while not confirming or denying that an Egyptian complaint had been received, said events on the border would be closely investigated.
"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will investigate the matter thoroughly and update the Egyptians," he said.
The Egyptian military said the policemen were caught in the line of fire as an Israeli helicopter targeted the militants.
Security officials, however, gave a higher toll, saying five policemen were killed by gunfire from unknown assailants.
Egyptian government officials and leading politicians condemned the killing of the policemen, insisting that there must be a reaction.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said on his Facebook page that "Egyptian blood is too precious to be spilled without a response."
"I am currently discussing available options regarding the deaths of noble Egyptian troops," he said.
Amr Mussa, who has emerged as a leading presidential candidate after stepping down as Arab League chief earlier this year, lamented Thursday's deaths of up to five policemen and said "there must be a reaction."
"The blood of these conscripts is not cheap. All parties, including Israel, have to be warned against harming Egyptian soldiers," he said.
