Israel bombs Hamas leader's office, Interior Ministry

Israel Air Force aircraft bombed Gaza Hamas premier Ismail Haniyeh's empty office as well as the nearby premises of his Interior Ministry on the night of Feb. 27, hours after Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza killed an Israeli student in the southern border town of Sderot. Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders have been in hiding, fearing Israeli assassination attempts. Palestinian health officials said a baby had been killed, and 31 residents of nearby buildings had been hurt in the IAF attack. A few minutes later, Israeli aircraft hit two metal workshops. Health officials said the 6-month-old baby was hit by shrapnel from the attack. His family lived near the Interior Ministry building in a Gaza residential neighborhood. The IDF confirmed the IAF strike on government offices in Gaza, and said that the complex was being used by Hamas as headquarters in which Qassam rocket attacks against Israel were planned and carried out. Earlier that day, three Palestinian children were killed in an IAF strike in the northern Gaza Strip immediately following the deadly Qassam attack. The children were aged 10, 12, and 14. The IDF said it had targeted a rocket launching squad poised to fire additional Qassam rockets in Beit Hanun. That afternoon, one Israeli was killed, several were wounded and many were treated for shock as at least 40 Qassam rockets slammed into the western Negev town of Sderot and the surrounding communities. Roni Yechiah, a 47-year-old father of four who was killed in the strike was apparently in a car, parked next to Sapir College on the outskirts of Sderot, which was hit by a Qassam. He suffered lethal shrapnel wounds to the chest. The rocket barrage occurred hours after an IAF strike killed five Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. One of the Qassam rockets directly hit a home in Sderot, while another exploded in a factory mess hall shortly after the workers had exited. Several people suffered shrapnel wounds in the attack, and seven people suffering light injuries and shock were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Hamas' military wing claimed responsiblity for firing the Qassams. Israel frequently carries out airstrikes and brief ground incursions in Gaza. That morning, at least seven Palestinian militants, most from Hamas, were killed in operations by the IDF in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In southern Gaza, an IAF air strike destroyed a minivan carrying Hamas members, killing five. Hamas said that the dead included a senior engineer involved in the production of the Qassam rockets, as well the commander of a local rocket-launching squad. Two other Hamas members were wounded in the airstrike, according to Hamas and Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry. Minutes after the first explosion, an IAF missile struck another car nearby. Witnesses said the militants in the car had abandoned the vehicle for the white minivan shortly before the strike. There were no casualties in the second attack. Also that day, IDF elite troops operating in the center of the West Bank city of Nablus killed two Palestinians and wounded three others. The IDF said that the commando patrol spotted a group of five men, one carrying a pistol. The group fled after they were asked to stop by the troops, who then opened fire. Four of the men were wounded, including the man who later died in an Israeli hospital.