16 rockets fired at Israel Wednesday: Army

JERUSALEM 

Israeli army said that 16 Palestinian rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Wednesday.

"So far today, Hamas fired 16 rockets from Gaza at Israel," the army wrote on Twitter.

The army said that five rockets had been intercepted over the southern city of Ashkelon on Wednesday.

Violence has engulfed the Palestinian territories since July 7 when Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of halting rocket fire.

At least 650 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4000 injured in relentless Israeli attacks on the blockaded seaside enclave.

Gaza-based Palestinian factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rocket at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks.

At least 31 Israelis, including 29 soldiers, have been killed since the hostilities began.

Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.

In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three-week-long "Operation Cast Lead."

By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout

www.aa.com.tr/en