Palestinian media sources reported that Israeli warplanes fired a missile at a civilian car in northern Gaza, killing at least one passer-by identified as Kamal Annan, and injuring two otrhers- believed to be Islamic Jihad members.
The Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for a series of homemade shells fired at nearby Israeli towns in the past several weeks. Witnesses said that the Israeli shelling took place on the Salah Eldin main road in the northern Gaza Strip She’sha’a area, just close to the so-called the 'civil administration' building.
Medical sources confirmed that the body of victim Annan arrived at the Alawda hospital torn apart due to critical wounds. A number of homemade rockets were then reportedly fired at the nearby Israeli town of Sderot. Israeli media sources reported that six Israeli residents of Sderot were wounded as a result.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian national security forces’ media office reported that a number of Israeli armored vehicles backed-up by helicopters incurred into the Abu Safiya area, in the northeast of the Gaza Strip.
Saturday's air strike on northern Gaza is a part of a series Israeli actions in Gaza in the past few weeks, as the Israeli army has reinforced their presence on the Gaza-Israel border line, under the pretext of cracking down on the Palestinian resistance groups’ rocket fire.
Israeli attacks on Gaza have been in violation of a ceasefire agreement agreed between Palestinians and Israel in November 2006, after the Israeli army committed a massacre of 19 civilians in the northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian resistance groups have since then claimed that the Palestinian people have the right to defend itself against the continued Israeli army attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The ceasefire deal has not included the West Bank, where the Israeli army continues attacks almost on a daily basis.
As of today, the Israeli army has shot dead a Palestinian police man in the West Bank city of Jenin. Israeli keeps up a strict military control over the West Bank and tightly controls Gaza’s crossing points, airspace and sea.
