Israel raid kills two in northern Gaza: Medics
An Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip killed two Palestinians and wounded a third.
GAZA CITY:
An Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip killed two Palestinians and wounded a third on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run emergency services told AFP.
"We recovered one martyr and two other people with injuries after the air raid carried out by occupation aircraft in Beit Hanun," spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told AFP, naming the dead man as Mohammed Abu Awda, 23.
One of those who had been in critical condition died later of his wounds, he said, naming him as Khaled al-Zaanin, 17.
The strike hit a field used by Hamas just east of Beit Hanun, Palestinian security sources said. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas that the men belonged to its armed wing.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the target was "a terrorist squad that was attempting to place an explosive device by the security fence" in the second such incident this year.
She said an Israeli aircraft and the armoured corps had fired at the squad, and the device that they were trying to plant had exploded.
In 2011, there were "approximately 30 such incidents," she added.
The skies over Gaza have remained largely calm since the beginning of the year, with the army counting just five rockets fired into southern Israel.
Wednesday's air strike was the first in 2012.
Last month, eight Gazans were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes.
The last deadly incident was on December 30 when Israeli warplanes killed a militant near Gaza City, whom the military described as a "senior operative in the global jihad movement."
An Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip killed two Palestinians and wounded a third on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run emergency services told AFP.
"We recovered one martyr and two other people with injuries after the air raid carried out by occupation aircraft in Beit Hanun," spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told AFP, naming the dead man as Mohammed Abu Awda, 23.
One of those who had been in critical condition died later of his wounds, he said, naming him as Khaled al-Zaanin, 17.
The strike hit a field used by Hamas just east of Beit Hanun, Palestinian security sources said. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas that the men belonged to its armed wing.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the target was "a terrorist squad that was attempting to place an explosive device by the security fence" in the second such incident this year.
She said an Israeli aircraft and the armoured corps had fired at the squad, and the device that they were trying to plant had exploded.
In 2011, there were "approximately 30 such incidents," she added.
The skies over Gaza have remained largely calm since the beginning of the year, with the army counting just five rockets fired into southern Israel.
Wednesday's air strike was the first in 2012.
Last month, eight Gazans were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes.
The last deadly incident was on December 30 when Israeli warplanes killed a militant near Gaza City, whom the military described as a "senior operative in the global jihad movement."