IDF targets two Hamas hubs in Strip´s south following machinegun fire at restaurant near Yad Mordechai Junction

IAF aircrafts stuck Hamas terror hubs in south Gaza Strip overnight, in response to Monday´s rocket and machinegun fire at Israel. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed the strike.

The Palestinians reported that two targets were struck, one in Rafah and one in Khan Younis, adding that at least one of them was a Hamas military wing command post. No injuries were reported.

Shots fired from the Gaza Strip Monday evening struck two vehicles and a restaurant wall at a commercial plaza located near the Yad Mordechai Junction in southern Israel. No injuries were reported.

The IDF reported returning fire. Later, the IDF said that the shells found at the scene were fired from a 0.5-caliber automatic machinegun. The alert level in the area was raised following the incident, while large IDF and police forces canvassed the area .

The army is looking into the possibility that whoever fired the shots did not plan to hit the restaurant, as it cannot be seen directly from the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.

Adi, a shift manager at the commercial plaza that was hit, said "at first we heard blasts and thought that children playing with firecrackers, but then we saw white smoke billowing from the places that were hit. We heard another round of gunfire and ran into the restaurant."

Near-death experience

Orit, the owner of one of the damaged vehicles, arrived at the restaurant with her husband and son. "We heard a few blasts but we continued eating. People ran in and said shots were fired, but we didn’t believe them. Later, police officers entered the restaurant and said our car had been hit. Now it won´t start."

Yochabad, the owner of another vehicle that was hit while it was parked in the plaza, said the bullets penetrated the roof and hit the dashboard, "meaning that had I been in the vehicle, I would have probably been killed."

About 10 minutes after the incident, the Color Red system, which warns residents of incoming rockets from Gaza, was activated in communities located within the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. However, security forces did not identify an explosion.

Earlier Monday, Palestinians in Gaza reported that a man sustained moderate wounds from IDF fire east of Khan Younis. The sources said that prior to the incident, a terror cell situated in the area fired a missile at Israeli army vehicles. Soldiers returned fire, they claimed. (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 07/10/12)