Israel, Palestinians pull back after Gaza exchange of fire

GAZA: Israel and Palestinian militants appeared to be pulling back on Wednesday from further hostilities after Israel responded with air strikes to a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip.
No casualties were reported on either side of the border, and Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon blamed the rocket launching late yesterday on “elements in the Islamic Jihad” group in the Hamas Islamist-run enclave.
His comments followed Israeli media reports that infighting among Islamic Jihad militants may have precipitated the rocket firing without the permission of Hamas authorities.
The reports also said that Hamas, whose forces are dominant in the territory of 1.8 million Palestinians, had arrested Islamic Jihad members behind the missile strike, the deepest into Israel since the end of last year’s 50-day Gaza war. An Islamic Jihad spokesman was not available to comment.
Hamas officials had no comment on the reported arrests. The projectile struck near the Israeli port city of Ashdod, some 20 kilometres from the Gaza frontier, Israeli security forces said, and hours after the attack there was still no claim of responsibility.
Israeli warplanes hit back early on Wednesday, striking four “terror infrastructures” in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. Gaza residents said the targets included training camps used by Islamic Jihad militants. (PTI)