israeli air strike gaza
© AFP 2017/ MAHMUD HAMS
The statement comes after the Israeli air force struck four locations in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas on Friday.

Two Palestinian fighters have been killed in Israeli airstrikes of the Gaza Strip, a local Health Ministry official told Sputnik Saturday.

"Ambulance brigades took the bodies of two fighters out from under the ruins of the Badr military installation south of Gaza, which was attacked by Israeli bombers at dawn," the representative said.

Following the statement, the Israeli military said that the country's air force launched a fresh airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, targeting four Hamas facilities, including two arms manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse and a military compound.

According to the latest data provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 25 people have been injured as a result of the airstrike. At the same time, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported Friday that six children were among the injured.


Comment: Also note in this article:
Israel launched the strikes against Gaza after two rockets were fired towards southern Israel Friday. The air assault came after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called for a new Palestinian intifada following the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The first rocket was destroyed by the Iron Dome missile defense system, while the second activated the warning sirens in the Sha'ar Hanegev, Sdot Negev, Hof Ashkelon and Eshkol regional councils, as well as the city of Sderot. The second projectile failed to reach its intended target. Warning that more rockets could soon follow, the IDF advised Israelis to remain close to "protected spaces" and bomb shelters.

The advice proved useful after a third rocket was launched from Gaza Friday night. The Iron Dome failed to intercept the projectile and the weapon struck Sderot city, home to some 25,000 Israelis. While no casualties were reported, the missile damaged a number of cars parked on the street.
The response by the Israelis to these rather ineffectual rockets launched by Hamas has always been greatly disproportionate in kind. Since the IDF can't simply walk in and kill them all, they will find any agression they can to use as a pretext to bomb them all to hell.



At least two Palestinians were slain, with some 1, 100 more injured on Friday during the so-called "day of rage" protests in Jerusalem, the West Bank. Skirmishes between the Israelis and Palestinians escalated after Israeli Air Force warplanes had targeted militants in response to rocket attacks, claimed by the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, a Palestinian militant organization.

The protests came in the wake of a highly controversial announcement by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.