Two injured in fresh Gaza air strikes

AFP - Israel staged two air strikes in Gaza during the night, seriously injuring a teenager and another person, Palestinian medical sources said Wednesday.

Emergency services said two people, including a 15-year-old, were injured in the raid at Beit Hanun in the north. A second sortie at Rafah in the south did not cause any casualties.

An Israeli defence spokesman confirmed the raids.

On Tuesday, Palestinian militants detonated a booby-trapped donkey cart near Gaza's northern border with Israel but caused no injuries or damage.

The blast took place along the section of the border that flanks the Israeli moshav, or cooperative village, of Netiv HaAsara, near the Erez crossing.

Also Tuesday, Palestinian militants fired two mortar shells from Gaza into southern Israel, causing no casualties or damage, the army said.

Glossary: The Mideast conflict from A to Z

There have been an increasing number of incidents in the past few months along the Gaza-Israel border, where Israel has imposed a crippling blockage following the Strip's takeover by the radical Hamas movement in 2007.

Israel launched a devastating assault on Gaza in December 2008 aimed at halting rocket fire. Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the 22-day Operation Cast Lead.

Since then, the number of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza has fallen significantly.