Israeli shelling kills Palestinian in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) – The Israeli army fired artillery shells at
two Palestinian security posts in the northern Gaza Strip on
Sunday, killing one person and wounding 14, Palestinian
security sources said.

They said an artillery shell landed on a small security
base east of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun as well as
on another position on the southern outskirts of the town.

A civilian was killed and 14 people, civilians and
policemen, were wounded, the sources said.

The Israeli army said the strikes were at locations on the
outskirts of Beit Hanoun used by militants to fire rockets into
Israel.

An army spokesman said that Palestinian security forces and
civilians were warned through leaflets dropped over northern
Gaza several days ago as well as via liaison offices to keep
away from rocket launch pads on the edge of Beit Hanoun.

“We informed them they must ensure they are not in areas
from where rockets are fired because Israel will not put up
with the firing of Qassam (rockets) and we will attack the
launch pads,” a spokesman said.

Israel has ratcheted up military attacks, including
artillery fire, on Gaza since the new Palestinian government
led by the militant Islamist group Hamas took power.

The air strikes and artillery barrages into Gaza in recent
days have followed almost daily rocket fire from the coastal
strip, which Israel withdrew from last year after 38 years of
occupation. The makeshift rockets rarely cause any casualties.

The army has killed 14 Palestinians over the past two days
in the deadliest spate of Israeli military attacks in Gaza for
five months.

On Saturday, eight Palestinian militants were killed in two
separate air strikes. The army also killed five militants and
the five-year-old son of one of them in a strike on a car as it
left a militant training base in southern Gaza on Friday.