Israel shells Gaza

Wound Palestinians:

PALESTINE: The Israeli army wounded two Palestinians in a clash along the volatile Gaza border Tuesday, the military and Palestinian medics said.

Witnesses said the two were wounded when Israel fired four tank shells near Juhr al-Dik village close to the heavily guarded border.

The Israeli army said the men were militants who had fired a rocket propelled grenade at an army patrol along the border, without causing any Israeli casualties.

“The force returned fire and identified a hit,” an army spokesman said.

Adham Abu Salima, a spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry, said one person had been taken to Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital with moderate wounds and that medics were trying to access the area to recover others.

The incident came hours after an Israeli General said his forces had mistakenly killed three Gaza civilians over the weekend, including a 91-year-old man, his 17-year-old grandson and another man, 20. The incident followed a week of near-daily rocket and mortar attacks on Israel that caused no casualties or damage.

Gaza has been mostly calm since a devastating 22-day Israeli offensive ended in January 2009, but Palestinian militants routinely fire rockets, and deadly incidents are still common along the border. GAZA CITY, Wednesday, AFP