Rockets hit Israel after airstrike in Gaza

JERUSALEM - Palestinian extremists fired at least 11 rockets into Israel on Friday after an airstrike against a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian civilian and his 12-year-old son.

The rockets landed in Israeli territory but caused no casualties, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Earlier Friday, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes against Hamas facilities in Gaza. One damaged a house next to a targeted site, killing a civilian, Bahajat Zaalan, 42, and wounding several members of his family, according to Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmia. Zaalan's son, Ramadan, later died of his injuries, the official said.

Other houses were damaged by fire or shrapnel and a total of 25 people were wounded, Abu Salmia said.

In a statement Friday, Israel's military expressed regret for harm to bystanders but blamed Hamas for choosing "to operate while embedded within a civilian population, using them as a human shield to protect their actions."

The military said the civilians were not directly harmed by the airstrikes but rather by the explosion of rockets stored at the sites hit.

On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike hit a group of extremists in Gaza, killing one and wounding two. Israel said it targeted squads preparing to fire rockets into Israel. On Thursday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing two extremists, including a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and wounding five bystanders. Israel says the extremists were planning to infiltrate Israel to carry out attacks.