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Israeli airstrikes target GazaOperations continue after Hamas announces halt to attacks
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSJERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli aircraft fired missiles into Gaza Monday morning, following a weekend of attacks against suspected militant installations. The airstrikes on sites that a military spokesman said were used to launch rockets into Israeli territory came the day after a militant group announced it would stop such attacks from Gaza. "We are calling our militant group to stop their activities against the Israeli occupation outside Gaza strip," Hamas' leader in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar, told a news conference. The three days of violence have threatened fragile efforts toward peace between Israel and Palestinians. Overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued their crackdown on "wanted" Palestinians in the West Bank, arresting 90 members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, an IDF spokesman said Monday. Over the weekend, Israeli forces arrested 207 Palestinian militants. Four Palestinian militants were killed in the weekend raids, including two members of Hamas. The military action came ahead of a critical vote Monday in the Likud Party of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon which is widely seen as a test of his leadership just weeks after Israel completed a withdrawal of settlers and troops from Gaza. The Monday airstrikes included one missile fired into northern Gaza which injured one person. Palestinian sources said the missile landed next to an industrial area in Beit Hanoun. Palestinian sources said two other airstrikes hit Rafa and Khan Yunis. No injuries were reported. Sunday evening, Israeli aircraft fired rockets on a Palestinian vehicle traveling south of Gaza City, Israeli military officials said. Two Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants who were killed have been identified as Mohammed Sheikh Khalil, a field commander also known as Kalil al Marashi, and Mohammed Baroon, said Palestinian security officials and Islamic Jihad sources. Israel and the U.S. State Department consider both Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist organizations. At a Cabinet meeting earlier Sunday, Sharon said he had instructed "that there are no restrictions on the use of any measures in order to strike at the terrorists, their equipment and where they find shelter." He added: "The instructions are unequivocal; we do not mean a one-time action here." Palestinian sources in Gaza said there was an exchange of gunfire between Hamas militants and security guards of Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfic abu Khoussa outside his house late Sunday. Khoussa was inside his home at the time, but no one was hurt, the sources said. Explosion at rallyViolence escalated Friday when a vehicle blew up at a Hamas rally in Gaza, killing 19 people. Hamas militants blamed Israel and fired at least three dozen Qassam rockets into Israel, wounding at least five civilians, Israeli officials said. The Palestinian Authority has called the blast an accident. Israel has denied any responsibility and accused Palestinian militants of setting off a blast intended against Israelis. Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres called Hamas "a danger" to Palestinians and the region. After the Hamas rocket attacks, Israel launched missile strikes into northern and southern Gaza Saturday night against what it called "weaponry manufacturing infrastructure." Targets included sites in Gaza City, Jabalya and Khan Yunis. Israel also arrested more than 200 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad members, an IDF spokeswoman told CNN. She said arrests were ongoing. The missile strikes killed two Palestinian militants from Hamas as they traveled by car east of Gaza City Saturday, said Palestinian security officials. One of the dead was identified as Rawad Farhat, the officials said. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat urged Israel to avoid violence and for President Bush to intervene. Israel's military actions, he said, "lead in one direction -- the collapse of the cease-fire, which serves no side's interests." Richard Jones, U.S. ambassador to Israel, blamed Hamas. "We all know that the terrorists are trying to provoke Israel at a very sensitive time, and we understand exactly what the government's position is and the response it has taken," he said. The outbreak in violence was the first since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last month, a step widely viewed as a new impetus for peace efforts between the two sides. Israel has criticized the Palestinian Authority for refusing to arrest and prosecute those who take part in terrorist attacks. Officials said the Palestinian Authority cannot claim a true "cease-fire" while militant groups attack Israeli officials with impunity. Palestinian leaders have said lifting arms against militants could escalate violence. 
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