- Title: GAZA: Israeli strike kills two despite truce
- Date: 1st November 2011
- Summary: VARIOUS OF MAN SITTING OUTSIDE MORGUE WITH HANDS ON HIS FACE MORE MEN OUTSIDE MORGUE AMBULANCE LEAVING HOSPITAL
- Embargoed: 16th November 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Gaza, Gaza
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Reuters ID: LVABFCGXAVR7NJVAGK7IYIMMIMSH
- Story Text: An Israeli air strike killed two militants in Gaza early on Monday (October 31) in what could be the last round in the current flare-up in violence deemed to be waned by an Egyptian-borkered truce that took hold late on Sunday (October 30).
The frontier was largely quiet since midnight when Israel, saying it had responded to a rocket barrage launched from Gaza, killed two militants with an air strike in southern Gaza.
But the truce seemed to hold since, ending six days of cross-border attacks that killed a dozen Palestinian gunmen and an Israeli civilian.
Most of the rocket firing from Gaza was carried out by the Islamic Jihad group, which suffered the most casualties, while the territory's Hamas rulers held their fire. Islamic Jihad has close ties with Iran and has chafed at the rule of rival Hamas.
The violence began when residents of Israeli suburbs south of Tel Aviv were jolted awake on Wednesday night by sirens usually sounded in towns and villages closer to the Gaza Strip.
The alert was triggered by what Israeli security sources said was an upgraded long-range Grad rocket that struck harmlessly near the Israeli port city of Ashdod, leading to an Israeli air strike on Saturday that killed five top Islamic Jihad militants in a Gaza training camp.
One of some 30 rockets and mortar bombs fired at Israel killed an Israeli man in the city of Ashkelon. Two other people were wounded.
Egypt officials said they were able to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire.
The violence erupted after weeks of a relative lull surrounding a prisoner swap on Oct. 18 in which Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held by Hamas since 2006. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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