Israeli tank fire at an Islamic Jihad observation post killed three Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian officials said. The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said.
The ministry identified those killed as Hussein al-Amour, 25, Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, 28, and Marwan al-Amour, 25. A statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed two of them as members. It was not yet clear if Marwan al-Amour, who died from his wounds later in the day, was also a member.
Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Hamas, but there were no reports of casualties. The military said the operation was in response to a brief incursion across the border earlier in the day by Palestinians who immediately fled back into Gaza.
It added that the strike was also in retaliation for repeated Palestinian attempts to damage the border fence and "security infrastructure" during ongoing border protests. At least 119 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip since mass protests and clashes broke out on March 30, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry.