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Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 Gaza Militants

   VOA News  March 27, 2011
   Palestinian mourners carry the body of Saber Assalya, an Islamic Jihad
   militant,  during  his  funeral in Jabalya refugee camp, northern Gaza
   Strip, March 27, 2011

Photo: AP

   Palestinian mourners carry the body of Saber Assalya, an Islamic Jihad
   militant,  during  his  funeral in Jabalya refugee camp, northern Gaza
   Strip, March 27, 2011

   Israeli  aircraft  killed  two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip
   Sunday,  as  Israel's military prepared to deploy a new defense system
   to shoot down rockets fired from Gaza.
   Islamic  Jihad,  a  militant group that often attacks Israel, said the
   two  men killed were the group's members. The French news agency, AFP,
   quoted  an  Israeli  army spokeswoman confirming the attack and saying
   the  air  force  plane  had  hit  a "terrorist cell" that she said was
   "preparing to fire a rocket at Israel."
   Tensions  between  the  two sides have escalated during the past week,
   with  Palestinian militants firing dozens of rockets and mortar shells
   into Israel and Israeli forces responding with air strikes.
   The  Israeli  military  said  it  would  begin operating its Iron Dome
   rocket   defense   system   on   Sunday.   The   government  says  the
   multimillion-dollar  interceptor  system  is  capable of shooting down
   rockets fired from a range of five to 70 kilometers.
   Israeli  Prime  Minister  Benjamin  Netanyahu  said  Friday  that  his
   government  was  prepared  to  act  with  "great force" to halt rocket
   attacks from Gaza.
   Palestinian  militants,  including  Gaza's Hamas rulers, said Saturday
   that  they  will  cease  fire  if  Israel does. There was no immediate
   reaction from Israel.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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