Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip early today after threatening to enforce a buffer zone to stop Palestinian militants firing rockets from the territory that Israel evacuated three months ago.
Helicopter gunships and fighter jets attacked least nine targets, cutting off electricity to a town in northern Gaza and blowing deep craters in half a dozen roads.
The Israeli army said it targeted two offices of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, and a bridge to an area used to fire rockets at Israel. There were no casualties.
The attacks came after Israeli leaders vowed to enforce a no-go zone in the north of the strip, though the army said today's air strikes were a response to specific Palestinian rocket fire rather than aimed at enforcing the buffer zone.
The rockets rarely cause casualties, but could harm Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's campaign for re-election in March on the strength of a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip he had said would boost Israel's security.
Mr Sharon has given the go-ahead for Israel to impose a no-go zone in northern Gaza, often used by militants for firing rockets. Anyone entering risks being killed in air strikes or shelling from land or sea.
