This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20054554

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Gaza militants killed in strikes following rocket fire Gaza militants killed in strikes following rocket fire
(about 7 hours later)
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have carried out air strikes over Gaza City, killing at least four Hamas militants and injuring several other people. At least four militants have been killed and several other people injured in Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
It comes after a night of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel which injured at least three people. The Israeli military said it targeted those behind the firing of more than 70 rockets into southern Israel since midnight, injuring four people.
Two large explosions were also heard in Gaza on Wednesday morning. Schools have closed on both sides of the border for fear of more attacks.
On Tuesday, an Israeli soldier was seriously injured by a bomb blast near the Gaza border fence. The previous day two militants died in an air strike. The violence comes as the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, visits the region to try to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.
One of the militants was a member of Hamas, the Islamist movement which governs Gaza. The other was from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). She was scheduled to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Her talks with Defence Minister Ehud Barak were cancelled on Wednesday so he could tour the border with Gaza.
The IDF said more than 50 rockets and mortar had been fired into Israel overnight, hitting at least one house. A number of the missiles were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system. On Thursday, Baroness Ashton will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
Israeli media said the three injured people were foreign workers. "This is a critical time for the wider Middle East," she said.
Israel said three of the militants killed overnight were hit as they prepared to fire rockets. A fourth, a member of Hamas's military wing, was killed on Wednesday morning. Hamas, which governs Gaza, is not even part of the peace process, which has seen little US engagement since direct negotiations collapsed two years ago, reports the BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza City.
Hamas has in the past tried to rein in rocket fire from other militants groups, but was involved in the latest firing, along with the PRC. Across Gaza and parts of southern Israel, many awoke to the thud of explosions. Another escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza City says Hamas is under public pressure to be seen to be resisting Israel, especially if its members or civilians are killed. Unusually Hamas's military wing said it was involved in firing dozens of rockets and mortars into Israel. It came after one of it members was killed in an Israeli attack targeting militants on Monday.
Schools on either side of the border have been closed amid fears of further armed exchanges. Hamas, which is in power in Gaza, has is the past tried to rein in rocket fire from by other militant groups. But it is under public pressure to be seen to be resisting Israel, especially if its members or civilians are killed.
The violence comes only a day after the emir of Qatar became the first foreign head of state to visit Gaza since Hamas took power in 2007. Both sides say they are responding to the other. As usual civilians are paying a price. It is thought neither Hamas nor Israel want a major escalation.
Our correspondent says neither Hamas nor Israel are thought to want a major escalation of conflict. After previous rounds of violence, it has been the Egyptian government that has intervened to try and mediate a truce. Such ceasefires though do not usually hold for long. It is a reminder that this long-running conflict has not gone away.
Following previous rounds of violence it has been the Egyptian government that has intervened to try and mediate a truce, he adds, but such ceasefires though do not usually hold for long. 'Continuous crimes'
Our correspondent says the thud of explosions across Gaza and parts of southern Israel at dawn on Wednesday were a reminder that the conflict has not gone away.
Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, said it had been involved in firing dozens of rockets and mortars into Israel.
Six rockets were fired on Tuesday evening before the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched its first air strike, targeting a launch squad in northern Gaza.
Two further rocket launch attempts were "thwarted" overnight by further Israeli Air Force strikes, the IDF said, confirming "hits".
Palestinian officials said three members of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades were killed.
Then at 07:00 (05:00 GMT), a barrage of 40 rockets was fired into southern Israel, the IDF said. Two foreign farm workers were critically wounded and evacuated by helicopter to a nearby hospital, it added.
Another 25 rockets were fired over the next two hours, seven of which were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system.
In response, Israeli aircraft and tanks targeted another rocket launching site in northern Gaza, killing another militant, Palestinians said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu promised to continue "targeted attacks" on militants launching rockets into Israel.
"We didn't ask for this escalation and didn't initiate it," he said. "But if it continues, we are prepared to embark on a far more extensive and penetrating operation."
Asked if he was considering a ground operation, Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio: "Nobody is eager for this but we will act, as we are required to stop this wave and to increase the effectiveness of the operation."
In a statement, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades and a smaller Gaza-based militant group, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), said: "These holy missions come in response to the repeated, continuous crimes of the enemy against our people."
Two members of the groups were killed in an Israeli air strike on Monday. The Israeli military said it had targeted the militants after they fired mortars at a ground patrol. Palestinian sources said the patrol had entered Gaza near Beit Hanoun.
On Tuesday morning, an Israeli soldier was critically injured after a bomb exploded as he patrolled near the Gaza border fence. The armed wing of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said it was behind the attack.