Palestinian resistance fighter killed one Israeli soldier in the Gaza strip, and injured several others in clashes erupted in the central Gaza Strip.
The soldier was killed in the early morning in an exchange of gunfire with a group of Palestinian resistance fighters east of Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, when the Israeli forces invaded the area. Local sources reported that several army vehicles and bulldozers, backed up by a helicopter, stormed the town and had been bulldozing the land when the attack took place.
Israeli sources confirmed the killing of the soldier and said that he was transferred by helicopter to Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the operation.
"I can confirm that an Israel Defense Forces non-commissioned
officer was killed by gunfire," an Israeli army spokesman said.
The Israeli forces have intrensified their attacks against the Gaza Strip after Palestinian resistance captured an Israeli soldier from a military base near Kerem Shalom on June 25.
