Israeli strike at Gaza militant squad kills one: army (1st Lead)

Nov 27, 2009, 7:40 GMT

Gaza/Tel Aviv - The Israel Air Force bombed a group of Palestinian fighters who were about to fire a rocket at southern Israel Friday morning, killing one of the militants, a military spokesman in Tel Aviv said.

The spokesman told the German Press-Agency dpa the fatality belonged to a radical, previously unknown Palestinian armed faction inspired by al-Qaeda, calling itself 'the Jaljalat.'

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation of the dead. Local reports earlier said four people were injured in the strike, one of them critically and three seriously. The four were initially, mistakenly believed to have been hit by an Israeli shell, rather than rocket.

'Earlier today, in a joint activity of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and Shin Bet (internal security organization), the Israel Air Force attacked a group of terror operatives on their way to fire rockets from the northern Gaza strip into Israel. Accurate hits including the rocket launcher were identified,' said the military spokesman.

'We see Hamas as responsible for keeping the peace in the south and the IDF will respond to any attempts to disrupt the calm in the south,' said the military spokesman.

The Palestinian Islamist movement ruling Gaza has largely observed an unofficial truce since last winter's Gaza war, but some militants acting independently have continued sporadic rocket and mortar fire from Gaza at southern Israel, to which the Israeli military has responded with airstrikes.