Israel finally struck back against the constant rocket attacks from Gaza after a student was murdered today, and the Associated Press article is a study in moral equivalence, starting with the headline: Israelis, militants trade deadly strikes.

The IAF hit several of the usual “metal shops” in this one. Gaza City has more metal shops per block than any other densely packed urban center. It’s amazing.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft blasted Hamas government offices and metal shops late Wednesday, killing a baby and wounding more than 30 people in a retaliatory strike after a militant rocket killed an Israeli college student.

The bloodshed fed worries about a new outbreak of heavy fighting between the Israeli army and militants in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the deadly rocket attack on the college in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which came a few hours after two Israeli airstrikes killed seven people in Gaza, including two senior commanders in the Hamas rocket operation.

After nightfall, a third Israeli strike aimed at a rocket squad in northern Gaza killed two youngsters leaving a mosque, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said it carried out the airstrike but had no knowledge of civilians being hit.

Then Israeli planes attacked the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and the nearby Interior Ministry, both of which were empty. Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders have been in hiding, fearing Israeli assassination attempts.

Palestinian health officials said a 6-month-old baby was killed by shrapnel in the late-night airstrike in Gaza City and about 30 residents of nearby buildings suffered wounds. A few minutes later, Israeli aircraft hit two metal workshops.