Palestinians: Gaza man killed in Israeli airstrike

Israeli aircraft struck Gaza early Sunday, killing a Palestinian man, while Palestinian militants bombarded Israel with rocket and mortar fire, as a new round of hostilities in the volatile border area entered its second day.                       

The Gaza man's death, reported by Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra, brings to six the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks since militants in the Hamas-ruled territory fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep patrolling the border on Saturday, wounding four soldiers, one critically.                    

It was not immediately clear whether the latest Palestinian casualty was a civilian or militant, while four of the Gazans killed on Saturday were civilians, al-Kidra said.              

Hamas' military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, acknowledged taking part in the rocket fire in a text message to reporters on Sunday. While it remains virulently anti-Israel, Hamas has largely refrained from attacking Israel since the Israeli military carried out a major offensive against Gaza rocket squads four years ago. It has also sought to keep things quiet as it consolidates control in Gaza, which it seized five years ago in a violent takeover.                       

But it is under pressure from smaller militant groups in Gaza to prove it remains in confrontation with the Jewish state, whose existence it rejects, and it sometimes joins the hostilities.  

Militant fire from Gaza at southern Israel is a common occurrence and low-level clashes with the Israeli military are common. But casualties and the participation of Hamas in the violence escalate the potential for more serious hostilities.


AP