Israeli airstrike destroys training base, no injuries

Israeli war planes bombed central and northern Gaza Strip early Thursday, with no injuries reported. Israeli forces struck a training site of Islamic Jihad armed wing the Al-Quds Brigades in Al-Zahra district of central Gaza, flattening the compound and damaging nearby houses. Another airstrike hit a location in the northern Gaza Strip. A statement from the Israeli army said it hit a "terror activity site" and "terror tunnels." "The targeting of these sites was in response to the firing of rockets at Israel on Wednesday," the statement said. Rockets fired by Gaza militant groups have hit southern Israel in recent days, without causing injuries or damage. An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed one person and wounded ten others, as the coastal enclave commemorated the third anniversary of Israel's large-scale ground invasion of the coastal strip. On Wednesday, an Israeli tank fired an artillery shell which landed in an open area in the north Gaza, without causing damage or injuries. Israel launched an unprecedented three week war on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27, 2008 which killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the military assault, including over 300 children. The majority of those killed were civilians and over 5,000 people were wounded. Hamas vowed on Tuesday that it would not be intimidated by Israel's threats to launch a new invasion, as Israel's army chief called Operation Cast Lead an "excellent" operation and said any repeat attack must be "swift and painful."