Israel launches new airstrike on Gaza

Israeli fighter jets have carried out yet another airstrike on the impoverished Gaza Strip following numerous air raids throughout the day. The airstrike targeted the Zaitun neighborhood in the eastern portion of Gaza City, a Press TV correspondent reported on Friday. No details have been reported, however, on possible casualties and damages in the attack. Since Thursday, Israel has launched several airstrikes on the impoverished Gaza Strip as well as along the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The airstrikes have so far killed at least 11 Palestinians and three Egyptians. In addition, Egyptian state-owned Nile Television reported that two of its citizens had been killed by Israeli gunfire late Friday morning. Israeli fighter jets had earlier in the day fired numerous rockets into Gaza City. According to hospital officials in the city, a 13-year old boy was killed, and 17 of his relatives were injured. The airstrike began on Thursday when several rockets had hit the southern parts of Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including a nine-year old boy. Moreover, three Egyptian border guards lost their lives on Thursday as an Israeli Apache gunship fired a rocket near the Rafah border-crossing. Tel Aviv claims it has launched the attacks in response to assaults that targeted two buses and a military vehicle near the Red Sea resort of Eilat in southern Israel, which left at least eight Israelis dead and dozens of others injured. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has accused resistance groups in the impoverished coastal sliver of organizing the attacks and vowed a “full force” response against the Palestinians in the Tel Aviv-besieged territory. However, the democratically elected government of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, in Gaza strongly dismissed the allegations and warned against any act of aggression against the enclave.