GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - March 23, 2011 - Palestinians sent a Grad rocket slamming into the Israeli city of Beersheva Wednesday, injuring a man, after Israeli air strikes and a mortar attack killed eight Gazans.
The Al Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack as well as for the overnight firing of another Grad rocket towards the port city of Ashdod, saying it was in response to a series of Israeli attacks a day earlier that killed eight, two of them minors.
Shrapnel from the rocket, which struck the center of Beersheva, hit a man in the chest, injuring him moderately, officials said.
Shortly afterwards, militants lobbed seven mortar shells into southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage, the army said.
With tensions soaring on the border with Israel after days of rocket fire and riposte air strikes, Israeli aircraft hit a target on the edge of Gaza City early on Wednesday, injuring two Al Quds Brigades militants, one critically, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.
Wednesday's rocket attack came a day after Israel mounted a series of raids on targets in the eastern sector of Gaza City, killing eight people.
All eight, two of whom were minors, were to be buried following a collective funeral in central Gaza City at midday, with officials from Gaza's Hamas leadership declaring a day of mourning.
