Israeli aircraft blast Gaza strip targets

Israeli aircraft unleashed a barrage of missiles at targets in the Gaza Strip early today and troops fired live artillery shells into the area for the first time, pushing forward with an offensive despite a pledge by Islamic militants to halt their recent rocket attacks against Israel.

Military officials said there were no immediate plans to stop the ongoing campaign of airstrikes and arrest raids, launched last weekend following a series of rocket strikes from the Gaza Strip.

The army said its airstrikes today targeted three buildings used for “terror activity” by Palestinian militants, and an access route in northern Gaza used by militants to fire rockets.

The airstrikes knocked out power in Gaza City, plunging most of the city into darkness. Palestinian security officials said the buildings suffered substantial damage, and a bridge in northern Gaza was destroyed, but there were no injuries.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops raided offices belonging to the Hamas militant group in the towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem early today, Palestinian security officials said.

The army had no immediate comment on those raids, but said it arrested 24 wanted members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad overnight elsewhere in the West Bank.

The army has arrested about 400 suspected militants in the West Bank in recent days.

Israel says the strong reaction is necessary to show that new rules are in place following its recent withdrawal from Gaza, after a 38-year occupation, and that attacks from the area won’t be tolerated.

“Terrorism must be rooted out,” Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Radio today.

The military activity came hours after Islamic Jihad militants yesterday declared a halt to their recent rocket attacks, and armed Palestinian groups pledged to honour a tattered cease-fire, seeking to end the Israeli offensive.

Islamic Jihad’s leader, Mohammed al-Hindi, announced the stop in rocket fire after an emergency meeting late yesterday of Palestinian militant and political groups. The larger Hamas militant group declared an end to rocket attacks earlier this week.

At yesterday’s meeting, the various Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the ruling Fatah movement, also renewed a commitment to a seven-month-old cease-fire, though they also said they reserve the right to retaliate for perceived Israeli truce violations.

Capt. Yael Hartmann, a spokeswoman for the Israeli army, called the militants’ pledges “meaningless” and said the open-ended military operation would continue.

“The … operations to destroy the infrastructure are not based on Hamas’ declarations,” she said. “As of now, we’re continuing with our operational plans.”

Late yesterday, the army fired live artillery shells into northern Gaza for the first time in what it said was a response to Palestinian rocket attacks. The shells landed in an open area that the army said was used to fire rockets. No casualties were reported.