Israeli Air Raids on Gaza Kill Palestinian

Israeli air raids on the northern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian overnight and wounded four others, doctors said Monday, after a rocket attack on Israeli territory.

The raids destroyed a security post of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and left two other Palestinians missing, they said.

The dead man was identified as 20-year-old Mohammed el-Kilani, a member of a Gaza "naval security" unit. One of the wounded was in a serious condition.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed that "an air force aircraft attacked a center of terrorist activities in response to the firing of a rocket" against Israel.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at southern Israel late on Sunday without causing injuries or damage, an Israeli military spokesman said.

"A rocket reached the Shaar Hanegev sector, north of Gaza," he said.

There has been low-level unrest in and around Gaza this month but it has not deteriorated into all-out fighting as it did on October 29-30 when tit-for-tat violence left 12 Palestinian militants and an Israeli civilian dead.

Militant groups say they are observing an Egyptian-brokered truce agreement but have reserved the right to reply to any Israeli fire, while Israel has said it will target any militants poised to fire rockets across the border.

On Wednesday, Israel criticized the U.N. Security Council for not condemning rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza.

Israel frequently criticizes the United Nations for being biased against the Jewish state. Palestinian envoys similarly criticize the Security Council for not condemning Israel's settlement construction in the occupied territories.

Israel is currently lobbying, with the United States, against a Palestinian bid to get full membership of the United Nations as part of efforts to secure greater international recognition.