Israel Continues Its Assault on Gaza

Israeli military aircraft began a fifth day of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip today, and the defense minister suggested that leaders of the radical Palestinian group Hamas might be assassinated if rocket fire into southern Israel did not stop.

Before daybreak, Israel fired missiles at several targets in and around Gaza City, destroying the offices of two militant groups and that of a leading militant linked to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, an Israeli military source and Palestinian witnesses said. One more missile destroyed a bridge in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.

The strikes knocked out electricity in most of Gaza City, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The strikes began just hours after Israel launched artillery fire on Gaza late Tuesday. It was the first time Israel had shelled Gaza in years, Israeli media said.

Several rockets fell in southern Israel on Tuesday, including one that landed in the city of Sderot. It was unclear who fired them.

Hamas said Sunday that it would stop launching attacks from Gaza, and the group and a dozen smaller armed factions, including Islamic Jihad, have announced they would abide by the terms of a temporary cease-fire with Israel.

In his warning Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz singled out Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar, saying that unless attacks from Gaza ceased, Israel would send the men “to where Abdulaziz Rantisi and Sheik [Ahmed] Yassin are.”

Yassin, one of the founding leaders of Hamas, was killed last year by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City. Israel assassinated Rantisi, who succeeded Yassin, less than a month later. Israeli officials have said they would respond to attacks from Gaza far more vigorously after ending Israel’s 38-year occupation of the strip this month.