Five Palestinian fighters were killed and an Israeli soldier wounded on Friday as violence flared up again in the Gaza Strip despite Egyptian efforts to mediate a truce around the impoverished territory. Three Palestinians were killed in an air strike called in support of Israeli ground operations near the city of Rafah, Palestinian emergency services said.
All three were members of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas, that rules the territory, said in a statement. The gunmen were involved in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops who penetrated 1.5 kilometres (one mile) inside the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Seven Palestinians were wounded and Israeli forces seized 15 people whom they took with them across the border when they withdrew, medics and other witnesses said.
An Israeli military spokesman said the soldier was wounded when gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an armoured bulldozer. In addition, two fighters of the Al Quds Brigade were killed near El Bureij in central Gaza, the Islamic Jihad's armed wing said.
The Israeli army said that troops stationed at the border shot two men who tried to place an explosive device, also in central Gaza, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. Violence between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups has continued in the impoverished sliver of land despite attempts by Egypt to mediate a truce.
Comments
Comments are closed.