An Israeli air strike on Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded two on Saturday, medics said, in a blow to Egyptian-brokered efforts to restore an informal truce.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military of the latest raid which followed several on the territory during the night that drew retaliatory rocket fire into Israel.
The casualties came in a strike east of the city of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said.
Overnight raids targeted two camps of the armed wing of Gaza's Hamas rulers in the center and north of the territory, and a former Hamas security post in Gaza City. They wounded about 20 people, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
Palestinian struck back, firing at least 23 rockets into southern Israel, most of them hitting the town of Sderot close to the Gaza border, Israeli officials told AFP, adding that one man was wounded.
An Israeli army statement said the latest raids were in response to rocket fire earlier in the week.
Israel held Hamas responsible for "all terrorist activity coming from the Gaza Strip," the army statement added.
On Friday, medics in the Gaza Strip reported that two Palestinians had been killed and four wounded when Israeli warplanes struck twice.
A first Israeli air strike on Friday afternoon targeted the east of Al-Bureij in the central part of the Gaza Strip, killing Basel Ahmad, 29, who was of no known affiliation, medical sources said.
Two other Palestinians were wounded in the strike, one of them seriously, the sources added.
Israeli aircraft "targeted a terrorist squad during preparations to fire a rocket at Israel from the central Gaza Strip. A hit was identified," the military said in a statement.
A second Israel air strike killed another Palestinian in the north of Gaza.
Hammam Abou Qadous, 20, died of his wounds after being hit as he travelled on his motorbike in northern Gaza on Friday evening, medical sources said.
Two other Palestinians were slightly injured, they added.
An army statement said "a plane of the Israel Air Force targeted a terrorist group in northern Gaza just after the group launched a rocket that hit the Ashkelon region".
An army spokeswoman said that five of the 23 rockets fired into Israel on Saturday were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.
"Eighteen rockets exploded this morning in southern Israel, 16 of them in the town of Sderot," the spokeswoman said.
A police spokesman said one Israeli was wounded when a rocket hit a building in Sderot.
The violence came despite a tenuous Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas. It was announced late on Wednesday by the Islamists' Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades military wing after a flurry of deadly exchanges in and around the territory.
The latest round of Israeli attacks and Palestinian retaliation began with air strikes Monday morning, just hours after gunmen from Sinai carried out an ambush along Israel's southern border with Egypt, killing an Israeli civilian.
Israel has said that its sudden spike in Gaza operations was "in no way related" to the border incident, with the military saying the air force was targeting militants about to attack the Jewish state.
rand paul mark kirk drew peterson florida gop debate freddie mac kristin cavallari jay cutler
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.