Israel’s tank and helicopter fire came after Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at Israel late Saturday, the army said, the second such attack in 24 hours.
Two rockets were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems, it said, without specifying what happened to the third.
Police reported no casualties in Israel, but said a rocket fragment fell on a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot.
Israeli medics said they had treated six people, including two with minor injuries sustained while running to bomb shelters and four others with panic attacks. Hours later, Israel’s army said “troops spotted a number of armed suspects adjacent to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip”. It added that an “attack helicopter and a tank fired towards them”. The health ministry in the Palestinian enclave run by Hamas reported three dead and said another Palestinian was hospitalised following the incident north of Beit Lahia.
It identified those killed as Mahmoud al-Walayda, 24, Mohamed Abu Namus, 27, and Mohamed Samir al-Taramsi, 26.
Hamas in a statement called their deaths “another crime by the Israeli occupation to be added to its grim toll against the Palestinian people’s rights, land and holy sites.” Palestinian group Islamic Jihad issued a statement mourning their deaths, but did not claim them as members.
“We affirm the right of our people to resist and confront all forms of Zionist aggression,” it said. A series of incidents along the Gaza border has tested a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel in recent days. On Friday night, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel and was intercepted by missile defence systems.
Israel said in response it carried out strikes on two Hamas “underground targets” in the northern and central Gaza Strip, without providing further details.
A Gaza security source reported three Israeli strikes on a Hamas observation post, an unidentified target near Gaza City and one that hit open ground in the central part of the enclave.
No casualties were reported.
The rocket fire and retaliation came after a series of other incidents along the Gaza border since the start of the month.
A week ago, a Palestinian shot at Israeli soldiers along the frontier and was killed when troops returned fire, the army and Hamas’ health ministry said.
A day before that, Israel’s army said its troops shot dead four heavily armed Palestinians on the border, adding one had managed to cross and throw a grenade at soldiers.
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