JERUSALEM -- Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to militant rocket and mortar attacks, stoking concerns that a grave new round of hostilities will fill the vacuum left by an impasse in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Two years of relative calm have been unraveling in recent weeks with acts of violence against Israelis -- including a deadly bombing in Jerusalem on Wednesday that killed an unidentified female British tourist -- and Israeli reprisals against Gaza militants, which in one case killed four Palestinian civilians.
Militants operating near the Israeli border sent at least seven rockets and mortars flying at Israeli communities throughout the day, drawing a pair of air attacks. No injuries were reported on either side.
Because of the superiority of Israel's military, its enemies consider hitting Israeli cities as the most effective strategy in a war against the Jewish state. At least two rockets this week have landed in Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel.
