Palestine: Twitter Reports Say Israel Bombing Rafah & Khan Yunis

During Israel's attacks on Gaza in January 2009, bloggers and Twitter users took the place of the media, which had been banned from entering, reporting on each event well before mainstream publications. Tonight, Twitter users have again brought the news faster than the media. At approximately 11:30 GMT (1:30 a.m. local time), Ibrahim Saeed, who tweets as From_Gaza, reported:

قصف في خانيونس ورفح : الان

Bombardment in Khan Yunis and Rafah: Now

Shortly afterward, he elaborated:

Screen shot 2009-11-18 at 7.36.32 PM

Blogger Political Theatrics has detailed the incident, stating:

The Israel Air Force struck smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border late Wednesday night, a day after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev.

The IDF Spokesman’s Office reported that the IAF planes also attacked a nearby structure believed to have served as a weapons facility near the Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Palestinian sources said three people were hurt in the attack, which they claimed also targeted a military training compound.

The IDF report also indicated that strike was carried out in response to a Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, and which landed in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, in the Western Negev.

[Editor's note: The aforementioned blogger was actually quoting from this Haaretz article; our sincere apologies for the error.]

UPDATE (8:06 EST): The BBC has confirmed the attacks, and Palestinian officials claim no casualties.

Twitter user pakinamamer is hoping for more answers. She asks:

Screen shot 2009-11-19 at 12.01.25 AM

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