Israeli jets carry out new airstrikes on Gaza Strip, injure four Palestinians

Rasa - At least four people have sustained injuries after Israeli military aircraft carried out a string of airstrikes on areas in the Gaza Strip in yet another act of aggression against the besieged Palestinian coastal territory.

News ID: 427721

Date: 27 February 2017 - 19:50

RNA - Gaza's Health Ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qidra, said the four Palestinians were moderately injured when Israeli fighter jets struck Nahda neighborhood of the border town of Rafah on Monday afternoon, Arabic-language Quds Press news agency reported.

Witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli fighter jets had also fired two missiles at a military site belonging to the Hamas resistance movement -- known as Shuhada (Martyrs) outpost -- west of Nuseirat refugee camp just after 1 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).

An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle fired a missile at a monitoring post east of Rafah as well, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Shortly afterward, Israeli warplanes launched three missiles at Hitteen outpost in the city of Beit Lahia, located about five kilometers north of Gaza City.

The airstrikes came shortly after the Israeli military claimed that a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip had hit an open area in southern occupied territories, but caused no injuries or damage.

The Israeli military frequently bombs the Gaza Strip, with civilians being the main target of such attacks.

On February 9, Israeli warplanes targeted a lifeline tunnel in Rafah, leaving two Palestinians dead and five others injured. Gazans use the tunnels to bring basic commodities into the coastal enclave.

Palestinian sources identified the deceased as 24-year-old Hessam Hamid al-Soufi and 38-year-old Mohammad Anwar al-Aqra’, both residents of Gaza City.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty.

Two Palestinians were also injured on February 6, when Israeli warplanes struck a farming land in the center of Khan Yunis city, located about 25 kilometers south of Gaza City.

Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014. The 50-day military aggression, which ended on August 26, 2014, killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians. Over 11,100 others were also wounded in the war.

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