Gaza: Two dead in Israeli attack amid Jerusalem unrest

10/12/2017| IslamWeb

At least two people have been killed in an Israeli air raid on the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Another 25 Palestinians, including a six-month-old baby, were also wounded in the attack carried out on Friday night.

Dr Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesperson for the health ministry, told local media that the bodies of two Hamas fighters were recovered at dawn from training sites of the Qassam Brigades armed wing in the south of Gaza City.

The fighters were identified as Mahmoud al-Atal, 28 and Mohammed Safadi, 30.

Friday night's air raid by Israel followed the alleged launching of rockets from inside the Gaza Strip.

One was reportedly intercepted by Israel's US-built Iron Dome missile defense system over the southern Israeli city of Sderot, while the second did not reach Israeli territory.

A third rocket, allegedly fired from Gaza, exploded in Sderot, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. No casualties were reported.

Palestinian political party Hamas tweeted that Israeli "jet planes target parts of north Gaza".

Israeli media said the targets were Hamas military installations.

The Israeli attack came amid massive protests in the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and besieged Gaza over US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Palestinians see East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, as the capital of their future state.

At least one Palestinian has been killed by Israeli fire in the protests and nearly 800 more have been injured.

Al Jazeera was unable to confirm if any group in Gaza had claimed responsibility for the rockets.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Gaza on Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya called Trump's move a "flagrant aggression".

"We call on stopping this decision fully because this will usher in the beginning of a time of terrible transformations, not just on the Palestinian level but on the region as a whole," Haniya said.

"This decision means the official announcement of the end of the peace process."

Al-Jazeera