Tanks enter Gaza, Palestinian killed in airstrike

Ma'an 
A Palestinian civilian died of injuries sustained after Israeli warplanes struck east of Khan Younis, Gaza overnight on Friday, as tanks entered south of the coastal enclave.

Medics at the An-Nasser Hospital in Rafah said Haitham Abed Al-Hakim Arafat, 23, died from critical wounds after several surgeries, which he sustained during an Israeli airstrike on Khuza'a, close to the border with Israel.

The aerial attack followed clashes between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army along the eastern Gaza border on Friday, in which two Palestinian resistance fighters and two Israeli soldiers were killed.

Israeli tanks were reported to have advanced east of Khan Younis following clashes. Medics said 13 Palestinians were injured when tanks and bulldozers moved into Khuza'a, with injuries ranging from critical to moderate.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told Ma'an that "overnight the IDF continued to operate in the area in which the deadly exchange of fire occurred, which killed two IDF soldiers wounded another two, so as to remove infrastructure used by the terrorists to carry out the attack."

Witnesses told Reuters that the sounds of gunfire abated an hour before midnight but the tanks remained in place, firing occasional rounds.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported Israeli naval fire along the Gaza coastline...

Late Friday afternoon, fierce clashes killed two Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.

Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were also reported injured in the violence, which broke out east of Khan Younis.

Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, confirmed that two Palestinians were killed. They were not identified. Ambulances were dispatched to the area but Israeli forces denied them access, Hassanein said.

Palestinian medics said four locals sustained shrapnel wounds after Israeli forces shelled homes in the Abasan Al-Jadida area of Khan Younis. The injured were evacuated from the scene amid the clashes, which apparently targeted Palestinian operatives in the area.

Among those hurt was a 10-year-old boy who was transferred to the An-Nasser Hospital from Abasan with serious injuries, Ma'an's correspondent reported from the scene. Medical sources at the hospital described the other injuries as moderate.

Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said its forces killed two soldiers and injured another after Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip for reasons that were not clear. "Clashes erupted between Al-Qassam resistance fighters and Israeli soldiers, who crossed 500 meters inside the border," said Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida.

"Brigades responded with heavy shelling and gunfire, causing fatalities and injuries among the soldiers," he told Al-Aqsa TV, the Hamas movement's official television station. Abu Obeida said Al-Qassam forces acted in self defense after Israeli forces crossed into Gaza. "This was the result of fighting back Israeli forces proceeding inside the border," he said.

Israel's military confirmed that two soldiers were killed during the clashes.

A statement issued by the army said "one IDF officer and one IDF soldier were killed, one moderately injured and one lightly injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists who were planting explosives along the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip."

Following reports that two soldiers were killed, Israeli warplanes shelled open areas east of Khan Younis, while Apache helicopters were spotted overhead. Locals also reported that explosions rattled the Ad-Dughma and Abu Tu'eima neighborhoods of Abasan Al-Jadida.

Clashes were reported throughout the same area, where Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, said its forces intervened after an undercover Israeli unit was spotted. "Brigades fighters are clashing fiercely with Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis, where seven mortar shells were fired on armored Israeli vehicles. Forces confirmed hitting these vehicles directly," a statement said.

Al-Aqsa fighters were "surrounding an undercover Israeli army unit near the Abu Asfur and Abu Iteimah properties in Khan Younis," the statement added. "A roadside bomb was detonated, after which aircraft landed to evacuate the injured."

Witnesses told Ma'an that three Israeli soldiers were evacuated by helicopter from Khan Younis.

The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said its forces acted after the unit was found.

Al-Quds said its involvement came after operatives discovered an undercover Israeli unit in Abasan Al-Jadida. Fighters detonated a series of explosives during the ensuring clashes, and Israeli warplanes provided cover for the Israeli unit, a statement said.

The armed group said several operatives were injured in the clashes and that one was still missing. The others returned safely as the violence subsided, but it was not clear whether the missing fighter survived or had been taken into custody.

Israel's army said it opened fire after two Palestinians attempted to plant explosives, although it was not clear where. "After identifying the terrorists planting explosives, the force fired at them and identified killing two of the terrorists," the army statement said....

Meanwhile, witnesses said Palestinians launched mortar shells toward Israeli towns in the western Negev.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said a projectile struck the Negev Regional Council area, causing no damage or injury. More than 10 such projectiles have been fired into southern Israel over the past week, according to the army. Israel had no comment.

Separately, a child was injured after Israeli forces reportedly opened fire near northern Gaza's Erez crossing. Saeed Abed Al-Aziz Hamdan, 15, was moderately injured after he sustained gunshot wounds, medics said.

Onlookers told Ma'an that an Israeli watchtower installed near the Erez crossing opened fire at the child, who was collecting stones nearby.

On Thursday, two Gaza residents were injured by Israeli fire in Beit Lahiya and Rafah.

Last week, an Israeli soldier was killed by friendly fire near the Kissufim crossing. Full story