Israeli Warplanes Attack Territory near Refugee Camp in Gaza Strip

Israeli warplanes launched an air raid overnight near the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip but there were no injuries, Palestinian security officials said Wednesday.

Photo: Israeli Warplanes Attack Territory near Refugee Camp in Gaza Strip

Israeli Warplanes Attack Territory near Refugee Camp in Gaza Strip

The air raid targeted an area militants have used to fire rockets into southern Israel in recent days, officials said, AFP reports.

According to Press TV, witnesses added that Israeli army helicopters provided the tanks and bulldozers with air support.

The Israeli army launched a massive military offensive, known as 'Operation Cast Lead' against the coastal Gaza Strip in December and January of this past year. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, mostly civilians, during the three-week offensive, which inflicted $ 1.6 billion damage on the Gaza economy.

According to the Palestinians, a rocket-launching cell was targeted near the Jabalia refugee camp. Two people were lightly injured in the strike, sources in the Hamas-ruled territory said. It remains unclear whether the injured Palestinians were rocket-launchers.

The IDF said the attack came in response to the rocket attacks on Israel's western Negev region. "The army will not tolerate any attempt to harm the citizens of Israel or its soldiers and will continue to act with resolve against any element that employs terror," the army said in a statement, adding that it considers Hamas solely responsible for the goings on in Gaza.

Palestinian sources in Gaza said IDF drones had been continually hovering above the coastal enclave since Tuesday evening, adding that explosions could be heard in northern Gaza a little after 1 am, Ynetnews reports.