Two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli tank fire in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian medical sources said, with one of them identified as an Islamist militant.
The shelling in eastern Gaza came hours after the army said several rockets were fired at the Jewish state from the Islamist Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, without causing casualties or damage.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, identified one of the dead men as one of its members.
Medical sources said the other was a 25-year-old but could not say if he was a militant. Two other Palestinians were wounded in the shelling, they said.
According to Israeli state radio, two rockets exploded in Israel on Sunday morning without causing injuries or damage.
However the army did not specify the number. "We still don't know how many devices were fired, as we are carrying out a search of the area to examine the debris," a military spokesman said.
In late December, Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza to stop rocket fire from the territory.
Since then, more than 200 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired from Gaza into Israel, the army says.
AFP
A Palestinian Health Ministry official says Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three in an incident along the Gaza border.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said the men were hit by tank fire.
The Israeli military said a border patrol fired at a group of Palestinians seen planting a bomb at the Gaza border fence Sunday. It did not elaborate.
The militant Islamic Hamas said one of its fighters was among the dead, identifying him as Abed Hafiz al-Silawi, 21.
While the smaller left wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine identified the other as 21-year-old Mahmoud Ahmed Naseer in a separate statement.
Joint operations by the two groups are rare, but not unheard of.
AP
The shelling in eastern Gaza came hours after the army said several rockets were fired at the Jewish state from the Islamist Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, without causing casualties or damage.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, identified one of the dead men as one of its members.
Medical sources said the other was a 25-year-old but could not say if he was a militant. Two other Palestinians were wounded in the shelling, they said.
According to Israeli state radio, two rockets exploded in Israel on Sunday morning without causing injuries or damage.
However the army did not specify the number. "We still don't know how many devices were fired, as we are carrying out a search of the area to examine the debris," a military spokesman said.
In late December, Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza to stop rocket fire from the territory.
Since then, more than 200 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired from Gaza into Israel, the army says.
AFP
A Palestinian Health Ministry official says Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three in an incident along the Gaza border.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said the men were hit by tank fire.
The Israeli military said a border patrol fired at a group of Palestinians seen planting a bomb at the Gaza border fence Sunday. It did not elaborate.
The militant Islamic Hamas said one of its fighters was among the dead, identifying him as Abed Hafiz al-Silawi, 21.
While the smaller left wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine identified the other as 21-year-old Mahmoud Ahmed Naseer in a separate statement.
Joint operations by the two groups are rare, but not unheard of.
AP
