3 killed in Israeli airstrikes
Last Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 | 5:45 AM ET
The Associated Press
Israeli airstrikes against targets in Gaza killed three men early Friday in a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, Palestinian officials reported.
The Israeli strikes came in retaliation for a rocket and mortar barrage launched into Israel on Thursday.
The bodies of two men killed when missiles hit a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border have reached the morgue at nearby Rafah Hospital, according to Dr. Salam Abu Salem. An Associated Press TV cameraman saw a third body being removed later Friday from the same tunnel.
Dozens of Palestinian smugglers have died in collapses and strikes against the tunnels, which are used to bring everything from cigarettes and chocolate to livestock and weapons into the blockaded territory. Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade to weaken Gaza's rulers, the Islamic militants of Hamas, who violently seized power in 2007.
Israel's military said that in addition to the smuggling tunnels its aircraft targeted a weapon manufacturing facility and another tunnel meant to allow militants to sneak into Israel for an attack.
In a statement, the military said Israel "will not tolerate the firing of rockets by terrorist organizations at Israel and will continue to respond against any attempt to disrupt the calm in Israel's southern communities."
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