- Title: GAZA: Israel kills three Palestinian militants, two boys in Gaza
- Date: 22nd August 2007
- Summary: VARIOUS OF ISRAELI MILITARY ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER DRIVING NEAR BORDER/ WITH CACTUS PLANTS IN THE FOREGROUND
- Embargoed: 6th September 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA7QE51TKQAAFJX7IQMCVNZLADT
- Story Text: Two Palestinian boys are killed in Gaza after an Israeli military attack. A funeral is held for three Palestinian militants killed earlier.
Israeli missiles killed three Palestinian militants and two young boys in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (August 21), Palestinian officials said, ratcheting up tensions two months after Hamas seized control of the territory.
A Palestinian ministry of health official confirmed the two boys -- aged 11 and 12 -- were in an area close to where Gaza militants had fired rockets into Israel. Three other boys were wounded, the official said.
The Israeli army said its forces fired on two Palestinians who were standing next to a rocket launcher soon after militants had fired into Israel.
The Palestinian deaths came one day after an Israeli missile strike killed six Hamas militants in one of the deadliest attacks since the Islamist group routed President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip in June.
An Israeli army spokesman said the three militants killed earlier on Tuesday were attacked because they were seen operating near the border fence.
Residents initially reported a missile strike on a car, but witnesses later said the gunmen, identified as members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, were on foot.
Palestinian ambulance crews collected three bodies at the scene, and witnesses said the men were in military-style clothing.
The attacks came one day after an Israeli missile strike killed six Hamas militants in one of the deadliest attacks since the Islamist group seized the coastal territory in June.
Islamic Jihad vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None