Dozens of Militant Rockets, Mortars Barrage Israel

An Israeli police officer inspects damage after a rocket, fired by Palestinian militants from within...

An Israeli police officer inspects damage after a rocket, fired by Palestinian militants from within the Gaza Strip, hit a house in Tkuma, near the southern Israeli town of Netivot, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip bombarded southern Israel with dozens of mortars and rockets on Wednesday, sowing panic and despair there and burdening diplomatic efforts to revive a truce that expired over the weekend. No one was injured in the barrages. (AP Photo/Moti Milrod)

(AP)

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip bombarded southern Israel with dozens of mortars and rockets on Wednesday, sowing panic and despair there and burdening diplomatic efforts to revive an expired truce.

No Israelis were injured in the barrages. The attacks took a steeper toll in Gaza as explosives apparently misfired, wounding three civilians and killing two militants. One of the injured civilians works for a conflict resolution center.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, said the bombardment came in retaliation for the deaths of three fighters in a clash with Israeli troops late Tuesday. Israel said the militants were planting explosives along the Gaza border fence.

About 60 rockets and mortars pelted southern Israel by midafternoon Wednesday, the military said. No injuries were reported, but a factory, a home and other structures were damaged. Rockets reached as far as Beit Hagdi, a small community about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Gaza City, the military said.

Related

Truce Over, Palestinian Rockets Hit Israel

West Bank Settler Eviction Offers Warning, Hope

Israel Strikes Gaza Day After Truce Expires

"We heard the alarm and the whistling as it approached, and then we heard a big explosion," said Benny Gueta, whose windows were shattered by a projectile in Ashkelon, 17 kilometers (11 miles) from the Gaza border.

"We can't live this way," Gueta told Israel Radio.

A rocket slammed directly into a house in the small community of Tkuma seconds after a father rushed his children from the living room into a bomb shelter.

The living room wall had a gaping hole and was sprayed with shrapnel. Toys lay covered in rubble and dust. A crib was pocked by shrapnel and filled with pieces of concrete.

In Gaza, meanwhile, health officials said Iyad Dremly, a Palestinian attorney who works for the Palestinian Center for Conflict Resolution, was badly wounded in an explosion that ripped through his two-story apartment building in Gaza City.

Militants were firing rockets and mortars from the area, but the military said it did not carry out any attacks on Gaza, suggesting the blast was caused by misfired explosives.