Israel Continues Airstrikes in Gaza Strip

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip – Israeli aircraft attacked several sites Friday in the latest round of raids across the Gaza Strip. There were no casualties in any of the incidents, Palestinian medical workers said.

A first strike destroyed the Interior Ministry building in Gaza City and sorties continued after nightfall, with attacks on what the Israeli military called a "terrorist training facility" in the south of the strip and on a building in Gaza City which Palestinians said was used by Hamas militants.

The military confirmed attacking the Hamas facility in Gaza and a former Israeli settlement near Rafah, close to the Egyptian border, which was abandoned in last year's Israeli pullout and taken over by militants.

Palestinians said the new occupants, activists of the Abu Rish Brigades, loosely affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, recently evacuated the complex, fearing just such an Israeli strike. The military could not confirm reports of a missile landing on open ground near Khan Younis.

Early Saturday, Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas training facility in central Gaza. There were no injuries, but the building was set on fire, Palestinian officials said. The army was looking into the claim.

The attacks seek to pressure Hamas militants to free an Israeli soldier taken captive in a raid from Gaza on Sunday.