|
 An Israeli air strike in the Gaza
Strip killed nine Palestinians, including two schoolchildren, and wounded more
than 20 others, medics and witnesses said, according to the BBC.
Witnesses said an Israeli missile struck a yellow van east of Gaza City,
suggesting that shrapnel from the missile hit a nearby house, wounding children
inside.
Reports say the first strike was followed by another missile, which hit
civilians who had gone to the scene of the first explosion.
The Israeli military admitted responsibility for the attack, claiming that
it carried out an aerial strike in Gaza against
a “car that was heading to fire rockets at Israel”.
Local residents said the men in the car belonged to the Islamic Jihad group,
which also confirmed that two of its members died in the Israeli strike.
Medics said nine people were killed, including two children.
Correspondents say there were scenes of pain and anger as bloodied civilians
were taken to hospital.
At the morgue, angry women shouted: "Death to Israel, Death
to the occupation!"
Although Israeli strikes on Palestinian cars are common, this is one of the
bloodiest in years, correspondents say.
The attack comes amid armed confrontation between Israel and Palestinian fighters in
the Gaza Strip with more air strikes and cross-border attacks.
The violence surged after Israel’s
deadly air strike on a Gaza
beach that killed seven members of a Palestinian family last Friday.
Correspondents say Tuesday’s attack will certainly escalate tensions that
have soared since the ruling Hamas party ended a 16-month-old truce with Israel after
Friday’s bloody attack.
Israel claims that 100
rockets have been fired across the Gaza
border in the past few days.
|
