Palestinian farms in Gaza come under Israeli fire
Israeli army claims shelling and airstrikes are response to mortar attacks on its forces from Gaza
By Mohamed Majed and Anees Barghouthi
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Israeli forces fired artillery rounds and carried out airstrikes in Gaza in what it claimed was a response to mortar shells fired at them Friday, the military said in a statement.
According to the statement, three mortar shells were fired at Israeli forces engaged in operational activities near the border security fence along the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli army then responded by bombing targets with airstrikes and artillery, it added.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that Palestinian farm lands in Gaza city’s al-Shujaiyya neighborhood were hit in the Israeli attack.
No human casualties took place but crops had been damaged in the incident, they said.
On Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that a woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The Israeli army has launched around 15 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip within the last 48 hours.
On Wednesday, clashes erupted between the Israeli army and Palestinians militants on the Israel-Gaza borders.
In July and August of 2014, Israel waged a weeks-long military offensive against the Gaza Strip with the ostensible aim of staunching rocket fire from the coastal enclave.
Over 2,160 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians, were killed -- and some 11,000 injured -- during the 51-day onslaught.
