GAZA
The Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, said Wednesday that one of its fighters in the southern Gaza Strip had been killed by Israeli artillery.
In a brief statement, the Brigades said that Tayseer al-Sameeri had been killed in the town of Al-Qararah east of Khan Younis.
Medical sources told The Anadolu Agency that al-Sameeri had been killed by Israeli artillery that had targeted farmland in the area.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli troops had fired into farmland in the Gaza Strip with machineguns and artillery.
The Israeli army said the fire was in response to an attack on army personnel patrolling the border.
Earlier Wednesday, army spokesman Peter Lerner said that Israeli army troops patrolling the border with the blockaded strip had come under "sniper fire."
On July 7, Israel began a devastating, weeks-long military onslaught on the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the coastal enclave.
By the time the offensive ended on August 26 – 51 days later – more than 2,160 Gazans had been killed, mostly civilians, and 11,000 injured.
At least 73 Israelis – 68 soldiers and five civilians – were also killed during this summer's conflict.
www.aa.com.tr/en
