A''math airstrikes, security tight ahead of Friday prayers

(19 Aug 2011) Rafah, Gaza Strip - 19 August 2011 1. Man standing amid debris in area hit by air strike (Israeli military claims it was a tunnel entrance) 2. Wide of damage and debris 3. Men standing amid debris 4. Various of debris 5. Close of debris and girders 6. Egyptian border post 7. Wide of border area Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 19 August 2011 8. Wide of child looking at people clearing debris 9. People clearing debris 10. Wide of people clearing debris, damaged sofas in foreground 11. Damaged house 12. Close of household items amid debris 13. Boy climbing out of burnt-out car 14. Wide of building, debris and burnt-out car in foreground 15. Wide of old Palestinian Authority building hit in strike 16. Collapsed storey of building 17. Various of damaged buildings Jerusalem, Israel - 19 August 2011 18. Israeli police getting out of vehicle 19. Wide of mosque in Old City 20. Various of Israeli police checking identity guards of people entering Old City 21. Wide of gate to Old City STORYLINE: Israeli aircraft struck targets in Palestinian territory overnight on Thursday following the deadliest attack against Israelis in three years. Gunmen who appear to have originated in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip ambushed civilian vehicles travelling on a remote road in southern Israel, killing eight people. Six were civilians, and two were members of Israeli security forces responding to the incursion. Israel responded hours after the attack with an air strike that killed five members of the Palestinian group that Israel said was behind it - an organisation known as the Popular Resistance Committees. The dead included the group''s leader. Hamas denied any connection with the attacks, but hurriedly evacuated all of its security facilities on Thursday in anticipation of more Israeli retaliation. Israeli strikes continued through the night, targeting what the military said were smuggling tunnels and sites used by gunmen. In the Gaza border town of Rafah on Friday morning, there was apparent damage to land and property, including houses. Hamas officials said two children, aged 3 and 13, were killed in the Israeli strikes. In Gaza City, a number of buildings also appear to have been damaged, including the former Palestinian Authority building. The gunmen who attacked on Thursday crossed into southern Israel through the Egyptian desert - signalling a new danger for Israel from its border with the Sinai Peninsula, long quiet under the rule of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak was deposed in February and the desert of the Sinai Peninsula - always restive and largely controlled by Bedouin tribes - has become increasingly lawless. Militants in Gaza launched at least 10 rockets into Israel on Friday, the military said. Security remained tight in Israel on Friday morning, with police officers checking the identity cards of those people entering Jerusalem''s Old City. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...