Medics: 1 killed, 7 injured as Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza

=============================================

Tweet

Follow @PalestinePlus

Published today (updated) 16/08/2011 10:17 GAZA CITY (Ma’an)

– One man was killed and seven others injured as Israeli warplanes struck targets in the central and southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday, Palestinian medical sources and the Israeli army said.

Adham Abu Selmiya, spokesman for the Hamas-run emergency services in the Gaza Strip, said the strikes had killed one Palestinian and wounded seven.

Several people were injured as Israeli forces fired at a group of people in the Az Zaitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources said.

All of the victims were evacuated to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Mousa Shteiwi, 29, later died from his injuries.

Three other Palestinians, including a 6 year old child, also sustained injuries as an Israeli airstrike hit the border area near Rafah, southern Gaza, medics said.

“The outcome of the Israeli aggression during the past 24 hours is now one martyr and seven injured,” Abu Selmiya said.

Israeli forces launched air raids in several areas of the coastal enclave after midnight with operations continuing until the early morning Ramadan meal, just before daybreak. Palestinian sources said they counted five air strikes across Gaza.

The Israeli army confirmed that airstrikes had hit the coastal enclave.

“Overnight, IAF aircraft targeted four targets in the Gaza Strip. Direct hits were confirmed,” a statement said.

“These sites were targeted in response to the firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip at the city of Be’er Sheva.”

The rocket that hit near Beersheba did not cause any damage or injuries, the military said. Israeli public radio said a second rocket had been fired at Beersheba, but it was not immediately clear where it landed.

Israeli warplanes also targeted a Hamas military base in the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, with no reported injuries.

The IDF confirmed that it had thwarted an attempt by militants to fire projectiles at Israel.

A military base reportedly used by Hamas’ military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, was also targeted in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Since last month there has been an increase in the number of incidents along the Gaza-Israel border.

The incidents have interrupted several months of calm following a flare-up in April, when an anti-tank missile hit an Israeli school bus, killing a teenager.

Israel responded to that attack with a series of air strikes that killed at least 19 Palestinians in the deadliest violence since Israel’s devastating 22-day assault on Gaza over New Year 2009.

AFP contributed to this report