Israeli aircraft strike Gaza following rocket fire

Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip early Sunday, wounding a 12-year-old girl and her father, according to a Palestinian health official.         

The Israeli military said in a statement that it targeted a weapons factory in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza into southern Israel.           

A missile hit the residence of a Gaza militant who was not home at the time, but flying shrapnel injured the girl and her father in a nearby house, Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmia said.         

Israeli forces have carried out multiple airstrikes against suspected militants and their facilities in recent weeks, in retaliation for sporadic but persistent rocket fire.         

An airstrike Friday killed a 12-year-old boy and his 42-year-old father who lived in a house near a targeted site. Three militants were also killed in airstrikes last week.          

About 20 rockets were launched on Friday and Saturday, the military said, causing no serious casualties but disrupting daily life in southern Israel.

AP