Israeli air strike hits southern Gaza killing one Hamas militant

Gaza City: Israel launched an air strike and tank fire in southern Gaza Wednesday and killed a Hamas militant after an attack on a border patrol, the army and Palestinian medics said.

The Israeli military said it acted after its troops came under fire from a sniper while they were on the Israeli side of the border fence.

“In response to the firing at our forces who were east of the fence in the southern Gaza Strip, we carried out immediate attacks against the relevant targets. There was an air strike and one by a tank,” an army statement said.

Palestinian medical sources said Tayseer al-Ismary, 33, died after being hit by a bullet, while Hamas sources confirmed he was a member of the movement’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

AFP