Israeli Military Strikes Gaza After Border Violence

Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
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Israeli Military Strikes Gaza After Border Violence

Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)

The Israeli military said it launched an air strike on Gaza Friday, following violence at a border rally in which health officials said multiple Palestinians were wounded.

The strike was the first since early July, when Israel responded to rocket fire from Gaza launched after its deadliest Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank in years.

The army said it hit "a military post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip."

A military spokesman said the air strike hit an area where Palestinians had gathered earlier Friday, near the permanently closed Karni crossing.

A security source in the Palestinian territory told AFP that Israel "bombed a resistance observation post east of Gaza City," requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly to the media.

There were no immediate reports of injuries resulting from the air strike.

Earlier Friday, an AFP journalist at the protest saw Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli forces, across the frontier, and two demonstrators with gunshot wounds.

Plumes of black smoke filled the area after Palestinians set tyres ablaze.

Twelve Gazans were wounded at various rallies along the border, the territory's health ministry said.

The Israeli military said "several explosive devices and grenades" were hurled at soldiers, none of whom were hurt.

The air strike comes after an explosion killed at least five Gazans during a border rally on Wednesday.

A bomb which may have been a hand grenade detonated while being carried by a protester, a witness told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Militant Hamas group seized control of Gaza in 2007 and Israel has since imposed a crippling blockade.

There have been multiple wars fought between Gaza-based militants and Israel in recent years.

At least 34 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in five days of cross-border exchanges in May.



Israeli Strikes Kill 17 Palestinians in Gaza, Orders Hospital to Evacuate

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 17 Palestinians in Gaza, Orders Hospital to Evacuate

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, medics said, as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north.
Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were killed in the Musa Bin Nusayr School that sheltered displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement the strike targeted Hamas groups operating from a command center embedded inside the school. It said Hamas used the place to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces.
Also in Gaza City, medics said four Palestinians were killed when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis south of the enclave.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where the army has operated since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and move patients and injured people toward another hospital in the area.
Abu Safiya said the mission was "next to impossible" because staff did not have ambulances to move the patients.
The Israeli army has operated in the two towns of north Gaza, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp for nearly three months.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out acts of "ethnic cleansing" to depopulate those areas to create a buffer zone.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the area aimed to fight Hamas and prevent them from regrouping. It said its forces have killed hundreds of fighters and dismantled military infrastructure since that operation began.
Armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas group.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.