Israelis kill 7 in anti-rocket effort
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Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, including a schoolteacher, during a campaign to stop daily rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip, and added a new economic pressure -- cutting electricity by a symbolic 1%.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed even harsher military action if Gaza militants persist with their rocket fire at southern Israel.
In one incident, an Israeli missile hit a field school, killing the teacher. A cameraman saw a rocket launcher nearby.
Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since the militant Islamic group expelled forces loyal to moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in June, generates about a quarter of its own electricity at a plant run on fuel imported from Israel. The rest comes over electricity lines directly from Israel and Egypt.
Human rights groups have complained that measures such as cutting fuel and power are collective punishment, harming innocent civilians.
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