(AKI) - Israeli warplanes killed three Palestinian militants and injured two others in the Gaza Strip in overnight airstrikes. In the most recent attack on Thursday, two Palestinian militants - Wassim Mansour and Mahmoud Hammad - were killed near the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza in an Israeli missile strike.
According to the Palestinian news agency, Maan, Mansour was a member of the Islamist militant al-Quds Brigades, while Hammad was a member of the secular National Resistance Brigades. "IAF (Israeli Air Force) forces struck a squad of armed Palestinian men near the security fence in the central Gaza Strip," said the Israeli Defence Forces website. "At around 08:00 am, the armed squad was identified after they fired an anti-tank missile an IDF patrol along the security fence. Following the anti-tank fire, the patrol forces pursued the gunmen into the Gaza Strip and directed an IAF strike against the squad."
Late on Wednesday, an Israeli drone launched a missile attack against a car in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing Khaled Sharan, a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Israel said the airstrikes were in response to the launch of homemade rockets at Israeli cities by Palestinian militants. On Thursday, Gaza militants launched three rockets into Israel and they reportedly landed in the Western Negev desert without causing any damage or injuries. |