Palestinian Militant Is Killed as the Air Fire Over Gaza Declines - New York Times

Palestinian Militant Is Killed as the Air Fire Over Gaza Declines - New York Times: "JERUSALEM, June 2 — A field commander from the Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad was killed in an Israeli air attack on his vehicle in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday night, army officials and Islamic Jihad said.

On Saturday morning, Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-affiliated Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for firing a rocket from Gaza at the Israeli border town of Sderot, causing damage to houses but no injuries.

In general, though, hostilities between Gaza and Israel seemed to have wound down in the past few days after two weeks of intensive Israeli airstrikes and Palestinian rocket fire, as Hamas, which played a leading role in the recent violence, appeared to be lowering its profile.

Since Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force has carried out one or two raids a day, compared with as many as 11 a day during the week before, according to an army spokeswoman.

The number of rockets launched from Gaza toward Israel also dropped in the past few days by about half, according to army figures. Eight rockets were launched on Friday and six on Thursday, compared with a rough average of 14 per day in the previous two weeks." Read complete post here.