Israeli air strike in Gaza kills 1, wounds 4

An Israeli air strike on a Hamas compound in the Gaza Strip killed one policeman and wounded four others early on Monday after Palestinian gunmen from the coastal territory fired a rocket into southern Israel. The Israeli military said the air strike “hit a terror activity center in the northern Gaza Strip” after a rocket was fired into Israel hours earlier, causing no injuries, Reuters reported. “A rocket reached the Shaar Hanegev sector, north of Gaza,” an Israeli military spokesman said. The dead man was identified as 20-year-old Mohammed al-Kilani, a member of a Gaza “naval security” unit. One of the wounded was in a serious condition, AFP reported. Palestinian medical officials said the strike targeted a naval base used by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip. The mayor of Beit Lahiya, Izzedine Dahnoun, said an electricity transformer supplying northern Gaza from Israel was damaged by the blast, knocking out power to some 100,000 people. Israel has said it holds Hamas responsible for any cross-border rockets fired. There has been low-level unrest in and around Gaza this month but it has not deteriorated into all-out fighting as it did on Oct. 29-30 when tit-for-tat violence left 12 Palestinian gunmen and an Israeli civilian dead. Armed groups say they are observing an Egyptian-brokered truce agreement but have reserved the right to reply to any Israeli fire, while Israel has said it will target any militants poised to fire rockets across the border. On Wednesday, Israel criticized the U.N. Security Council for not condemning rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza. Israel frequently criticizes the United Nations for being biased against the Jewish state. Palestinian envoys similarly criticize the Security Council for not condemning Israel’s settlement construction in the occupied territories. Israel is currently lobbying, with the United States, against a Palestinian bid to get full membership of the United Nations as part of efforts to secure greater international recognition.