In brief: Israeli aircraft hit sites in Gaza

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military said its aircraft struck two militant tunnels, two weapons manufacturing and storage facilities and two other militant sites across the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmia reported that 18 civilians and Hamas security forces were slightly wounded. Facilities near the targets were also reported damaged.

The military said today that the sites were targeted overnight in response to 56 mortar shells and rockets fired from Gaza into Israel over the past week.

The military also said the tunnels were dug so militants could infiltrate Israeli territory to attack civilians and soldiers.

In a statement, it vowed to “respond with determination” to any attempt to attack Israelis.

Calm in Haiti as election is tallied

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A day after Haiti’s runoff election for president, the candidates kept a low profile Monday while they and the voters were left to wait at least a week and a half for official results.

The scene in Port-au-Prince was calm, as it had been Sunday during balloting in the race between popular singer Michel Martelly and university administrator Mirlande Manigat.

Preliminary results are due March 31.

A final tally is to be announced April 16, almost a month after the balloting, to give the candidates a chance to lodge legal challenges.

Haitian officials and foreign observers said that even though some polling places opened late or without ballots or ink, Sunday’s vote was smoother than the chaotic first round of voting on Nov. 28, when many voters were unable to cast ballots due to organizational lapses.

The first-round vote was also marred by allegations of vote-rigging by the ruling party, which was eventually denied a spot in the runoff.

Americans killed in boat accident

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Two tourists from the United States were killed Monday in an accident at the Iguazu Falls on northern Argentina’s border with Brazil, authorities said.

Laura Matejik Eberts, 28, and Philip Musgrove, 70, were in an inflatable boat that flipped over after hitting rocks near the base of the waterfall, said Jorge Veron, an official in Misiones province. He did not release their hometowns.

Five other people suffered injuries and were treated at a hospital, Veron said. The injured included one American, two Germans, one Colombian and one Argentine.

Pelosi treated at Rome hospital

LOS ANGELES – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, briefly went to a Rome hospital Monday morning but has resumed her official duties, her office announced.

Pelosi, D-Calif., felt unwell on arrival in Italy after a visit to Afghanistan with a congressional delegation, according to a statement from her spokesman, Nadeam Elshami.

“This morning in Rome, the leader was advised to visit a clinic, and the closest medical facility was a hospital. The leader is now resuming her schedule in Italy,” according to the statement.

Pelosi, who will be 71 this week, heads a congressional delegation invited to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.