Israeli tanks and troops raided northern Gaza on Wednesday, shooting dead three men in clashes after Palestinian gunners attacked by mortars and rockets settlements and an Israeli town.
Palestinian witnesses said some 15 tanks and personnel carriers entered Gaza near the town of Beit Hanoun. A handful of residents threw rocks, drawing gunfire that killed one man and wounded seven others, witnesses and hospital officials said.
An Israeli military source said troops were searching for launch sites used to fire rockets and mortar bombs at Gaza settlements and the Israeli town of Sderot.
Hamas gunners fired as many as four Qassam rockets at Sderot, and nine mortar shells at Gaza settlements Wednesday. No injuries were reported. This attack came following the assassination of a top Hamas activist on Tuesday by Israeli helicopters.
Elsewhere, twenty Palestinian teenagers were wounded Wednesday when a bomb exploded in the yard of a high school in the northern West Bank, media reports said.
The explosion in Jaba, a town near Jenin, occurred apparently after one of the pupils touched a small package containing explosives in the school yard, Palestinians sources said. Three of the pupils were listed in serious condition.
An unknown Jewish group, linked to the settlers, claimed responsibility for this attack, Israel Army Radio reported. (Albawaba.com)
