Israel Air Force attacks Hamas leaders after Rocket attacks from Gaza

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired four consecutive rockets at the northern Negev city of Ashkelon on Thursday morning. A few minutes later, two rockets struck Sdot Hanegev regional council, closer to the Hamas-ruled coastal territory.
Three of the rockets exploded in residential areas of Ashkelon. Two people werelightly wounded by shrapnel and several people were treated for shock.
The rockets struck separate locations in the city just before 8 A.M. One of the rockets scored a direct hit on a house, but caused no casualties as the residing family had taken shelter overnight in a protected space. Another rocket exploded in a field outside of the city.

The Israel Air Force attacked 20 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday, entering its seventh day of offensive against the ruling movement's infrastructure in the coastal territory.
Before dawn, Israeli aircraft hit 15 houses belonging to Hamas militants, Palestinians said. They said the Israelis either warned nearby residents by phone or fired a warning missile to reduce civilian casualties.

Israeli officials said Friday that the government has decided to allow dozens of Palestinian holders of foreign passports to flee the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner said nearly 300 Palestinians are pouring through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing.
He saidthe Palestinians hold citizenship from a number of other countries, including the U.S., Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan.
More than 400 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 2,000 more wounded since Israel began its aerial offensive on the Gaza Strip last Saturday. Since then, 12 Palestinians have been evacuated to Israeli hospitals, including one wounded by a Qassam rockets which misfired en route to Israel.

The IAF on Friday afternoon fired missiles at former Hamas refugee minister Atef Adwan's house in Gaza, Palestinians reported. Palestinian sources also claimed that shortly afterward, IAF aircraft attacked smuggling tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor.

Earlier Friday, the air force bombed the home of Hamas terror operative Muhammad Ma'tuk in Jabalya, northern Gaza.