Israel attacks Lebanon terror camp

Jerusalem: Israeli warplanes launched an attack on a Palestinian militant group's training camp near Beirut early on Wednesday after rockets fired from Lebanon hit an Israeli town, the Israeli military said.

The strike on a camp run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine came after three rockets crashed into a residential area of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona late on Tuesday.

The rockets caused no casualties and only minor damage, Israeli police told CNN.

The Israeli military said it held Lebanon's government responsible for the rocket attack.

The Lebanese government "has done nothing to dismantle the terror organizations operating from within Lebanon," as required by UN resolutions, a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said.

"The IDF will act with determination in order to defend the citizens of Israel from the aggression of the terror organizations operating from within Lebanon," the statement said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese government.

The Palestinian militant group PFLP has carried out a number of terrorist attacks against Israeli or moderate Arab targets, according to the US State Department.

The PFLP claimed responsibility for the October 2001 assassination of right-wing Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi, who was shot at a Jerusalem hotel.

It was the first assassination of an Israeli Cabinet official by a Palestinian.

The PFLP wants Israel to withdraw from all land it has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967, including east Jerusalem.

Strikes in Gaza

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft struck targets in northern Gaza after a spate of rocket attacks by Palestinian militants against Israel, the Israeli military said.

The air strikes targeted roads Israeli commanders believe are used to get to launch sites for the rockets, an Israeli military spokesman told CNN.

Palestinian security sources said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attack, which took place shortly before 0100 hrs, IST.

In August, Israel withdrew settlers and its troops from Gaza, which it seized during the 1967 Six-Day War. But Israeli warplanes have struck targets in the territory repeatedly in recent months in response to ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

Israel has demanded the Palestinian Authority crack down on militant groups before it resumes talks toward a peace settlement.