A four-year-old boy and a Gaza militant were killed on Saturday as Israeli forces targeted areas in southern and northern Gaza, medical officials said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said Ali Muatazz al-Shawwaf, 4, was killed and three others injured, one seriously, by an Israeli air strike in the Abasan neighborhood east of Khan Younis.

A militant affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committee was also killed in an airstrike east of Jabalia, northern Gaza, al-Qidra said. The casualty was identified as Khalid al-Burei, 25.

Meanwhile, three people were wounded in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, when Israeli forces opened fire at farmers tending their land, witnesses said.

Explosions were also reported in Gaza City and Rafah, witnesses said. Hamas medical officials said a baby was wounded in an attack in Rafah, at the Egypt border.


An Israeli military statement claimed the strike that killed al-Burei "targeted a terrorist in the northern Gaza Strip, during final preparations to fire a rocket at "Israel," confirming a direct hit.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli warplanes launched air strikes against three Hamas security targets in the Gaza Strip, wounding at least 17 people, Hamas medical officials said.

An Israeli man was injured in Sderot early Saturday after a rocket hit the town as he was trying to enter a concrete shelter, Israeli officials said.


The PFLP's military wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed responsibility for two rockets fired at southern Israel on Saturday.

Airstrikes on Friday, which Israeli army said were in response to rocket fire from militants, brought the Gaza death toll to 10 people since hostilities began.

Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians over three days of heavy shelling that ended Wednesday night as Hamas' military wing signed up to a truce mediated by Egypt.

Ma'an -