Jerusalem, Aug 19: Israeli jets pounded Hamas positions in Gaza and Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel injuring 10 today, as violence escalated, a day after eight Israelis were killed in the deadliest attack in three years.
 The sudden spurt in violence prompted the Israel to warn that it would respond with strength "exacting a price, a very heavy price" if such attacks continue.
 "We all witnessed today an attempt to escalate the terrorist war against Israel by launching of attacks from the Sinai. If there is someone who thinks that the State of Israel will let this pass, he is mistaken", Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
 "I have set out a principle - when the citizens of Israel are attacked, we respond immediately and with strength. That principle was implemented today. Those who gave the order to murder our citizens, while hiding in Gaza, are no longer among the living", Netanyahu stressed.
 According to reports emanating from Cairo, five Egyptian security personnel were killed when Israeli soldiers were pursuing Gaza militants after a bloody attack along the border in the Sinai Peninsula.
 Yesterday, heavily armed militants from Gaza had infiltrated into southern Israel through Egypt's Sinai peninsula, launching a series of coordinated attacks claiming eight lives, prompting a reprisal strike that killed six people in the Palestinian territory.
 One of the ten rockets fired exploded in the courtyard of an ultra-orthodox yeshiva (institute for religious studies) in the southern city of Ashdod leaving 10 people injured.
 Israeli fighter jets bombed Gaza overnight, killing a teenager and injuring five people, local media reports said.
 The Magen David Adom emergency services said that two people sustained serious wounds to their abdomen. Eight others were lightly injured in the attack.
 The victims were rushed to the Kaplan Medical Centre in Rehovot.
 The barrage of grad and qassam rockets also hit other major population centres in south Israel such as Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva and Kiryat Gat, causing no major damages.
 The Home Front Command issued guidelines for residents of southern communities banning the gathering of more than 500 people. Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovitch called on residents to adhere to the defence establishment instructions. An anti-missile Iron Dome battery, which has proved useful in intercepting short range rockets, was deployed in the city.
 The Palestinian rocket fire followed an Israel Air Force (IAF) attack on the Gaza Strip overnight in response to the attacks on Israel that took place on Thursday afternoon.
 IAF aircrafts attacked seven sites in the Gaza Strip overnight.
 An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Spokesperson claimed that the targets included two terror activity sites, a weapons storage unit in north Gaza, and two smuggling tunnels and a terror activity site in south Gaza.
 Israeli forces killed five of those involved in the terror attack, and Egyptian soldiers reportedly killed two more, but the IDF estimated that 15 to 20 persons participated in the attack.
 "If the terrorist organisations believe that they can attack our citizens and get away with it, they will soon learn how wrong they are. We will exact a price, a very heavy price", Netanyahu emphasised.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST