Palestinian woman killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza

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A 53-year-old woman was killed and several others wounded in air strikes on the Gaza Strip as Israel and Palestinian armed groups engaged in one of the worst exchanges of fire since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza Strip Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the woman, identified as Zeina Al Omor, had been killed and several others injured by shrapnel in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Israel launched the first strikes in southern Gaza late on Wednesday in response to mortar attacks on Israeli troops along the border.  Early on Thursday, it launched strikes on four targets in northern Gaza and another four in the south later in the day. On Thursday, the Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for firing five mortar shells at the Israeli ground troops operating near the Gaza-Israel border fence.

It said it was the first time since the 2014 Gaza war that it had done so. The Israeli military said that during ongoing searches along the Gaza-Israel border, it had found a tunnel running underneath the southern Gaza border at a depth of 27-29 metres. It was not yet clear how long it was, but the military said it probably reached far into Israel.

Since the 2014 war, Hamas, the movement in de facto control of the Gaza Strip, had “tolerated” Israeli troops entering 100 metres into the Gaza Strip while clearing the border area, an Israeli military spokesman said. But this time, Israeli troops digging there came under mortar fire, Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said. It was the second tunnel uncovered by Israel in one month.

One target struck by Israel early on Thursday was a goldsmith workshop in southern Gaza City, residents said. Israel says it has intelligence indicating that workshops are used to produce weapons.

Aljazeera.