Israeli air strikes and shelling killed eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medical officials said, in the deadliest day of conflict in the enclave in months. Palestinian medical officials said three youths aged 12, 16 and 17 who were playing football and an adult relative were killed by Israeli shelling, and four militants were killed later in an air strike elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli armed forces said militants fired mortar rounds into Israel and its troops responded with mortars of their own, and expressed regret for any civilian casualties. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the air strike. Tension has risen on the Israeli-Gaza frontier in the past few weeks. Tuesday's death toll was the highest for a single day in months and Hamas swiftly threatened a possible escalation.
In Tuesday's raids, Israel killed four militants of the Islamic Jihad group in an air strike east of Gaza City, Hamas officials and medical staff said. In the earlier shelling, Israel's armed forces said it aimed mortar fire at militants shooting at Israel. Palestinian medical officials said the Israeli shells struck a house, killing four people and wounding 12, including eight children. The owner of the house was inside and the youths were outside playing football, witnesses and medical officials said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.