Israeli Air Force strikes at Hamas arms smuggling tunnels

Jerusalem, Jan.28 (ANI): The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has reportedly destroyed a number of arms smuggling tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor.

There were no immediate reports of injury, but hundreds of people reportedly fled the area, The Jerusalem Post reports. The IDF spokesman confirmed the strikes in an announcement, saying they were in response to the bomb attack against a military patrol along the border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning in which one warrant officer was killed and three others were wounded, including one severely.

The IDF sees Hamas as responsible for preserving the peace in Israel's South, and will respond harshly to any attempt of undermining it, the announcement added.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak called an urgent meeting of top defense officials after the bombing.

"This is a serious attack, and we will respond, but there is no point in elaborating," Barak said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told a gathering of the New York-based World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem on Tuesday that Israel would no longer show restraint against Palestinian attacks from the Gaza Strip.

"Israel is going to act according to a new equation. We are not going to show restraint anymore," Livni said. "We need to change the rules of the game until they learn that the rules have changed and the equation has changed," Livni said. (ANI)