Israel turns its fire on Gaza

Israel pounded the northern Gaza Strip with artillery fire today, killing a Palestinian police officer and wounding nine people as Israel escalated its retaliation for militant rocket attacks and put pressure on the new Hamas government that refuses to stop the attacks.

The shelling, which also set a plastics factory ablaze, was part of an Israeli offensive to stop the waves of rockets launched from Gaza into southern Israel. No Israelis were wounded in the rocket fire over the weekend.