Israeli army vehicles entered a Palestinian-controlled area of the Gaza Strip Thursday in response to rocket fire toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The brief incursion into the northern Gaza Strip marked the first time troops entered Palestinian-controlled land since withdrawing from parts of the strip in July under a US-backed peace plan. A bulldozer accompanied by two jeeps cleared bushes and searched for rocket launchers but security officials said troops would withdraw again quickly. Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian militants fired four rockets from northern Gaza toward Israel and one hit near a brewery in the industrial zone of Ashkelon. It was the deepest hit since Hamas began firing such rockets in November 2001. The rockets caused no damage or injuries but Israel considers them a strategic threat.

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