Another cycle of violence in the Middle East as Israel strikes targets in Gaza in retaliation for  a barrage of mortars fired earlier today by Palestinian militants from Gaza.  The group firing the rockets, The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) says this was retaliation after Israel killed two Palestinian militants from an Al-Qaeda related group on Wednesday.

Friday morning Palestinians fired one long-range Grad missile and seven mortar bombs on the Western Negev towns of Israel. No one was hurt in these attacks but according to Israeli police at least one of those mortars contained phosphorus.  

Israeli retaliation came soon after and the Israeli Air Force struck three targets in Gaza. Eight people were injured, all of them civilians. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim they targeted two smuggling tunnels. They also hit a third target but wouldn’t confirm what it was. According to the Palestinians, Israel fired on an Islamic Jihad training camp. 

Though PRC claimed responsibility for the mortar fire Israeli officials sent an announcement saying they hold Hamas solely responsible for the situation in Gaza since they are the main authority in power. 

These events have upped  the tension in the Middle East. In December 2008 Israel launched a harsh offensive against Gaza after years of intense rocket fire coming from the area.