Israel intensified its attacks on the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least four people. The aggression brought the death toll in the offensive to 13 Palestinians, including a young girl, since Thursday.
Israel TV said the operation in Gaza Friday was the largest there in weeks. An Israeli aircraft attacked a car in the northern Gaza Strip, killing three Hamas members, including a local commander, the group said. Witnesses said the force of the blast ripped the white sedan into two parts. The army confirmed it had carried out the strike.
In the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli soldiers shot dead a 29-year-old woman outside her house in the village of Abassan.
The latest Israeli activity has been focused in the Abassan area, near the southern city of Khan Younis. An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed six people, including two teenage civilians.
On Thursday night, Palestinian gunners fired a rocket from Gaza Strip at the Israeli town of Sderot. The rocket struck an electricity pylon, blacking out parts of the town and slightly injuring two people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
In the West Bank, Palestinians trying to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers clashed with police and soldiers at five Israeli checkpoints around the city. The protesters had hoped to attend weekly prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, the AP reported.
