GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli drone aircraft fired a missile into a car carrying two Hamas militants in Gaza on Tuesday but both escaped without serious injury, witnesses said. Some passersby suffered minor wounds, they said, in the incident in the city of Khan Younis, a bastion of militants who often fire mortar bombs and rockets at nearby Jewish settlements in the occupied territory. | Ahmed al-Passersby, works at the animal shelter, feeding baby ducks. |
Palestinian militant sources said the Hamas men were apparently en route to staging an attack on part of the fortified Gush Katif settlement bloc nearby when they were spotted by a patrolling drone and targeted. | Missed them by that much. |
In a statement, the Israeli army said aircraft had fired on gunmen blamed for mortar attacks from Khan Younis, including 40 in the past week. Israeli tanks and troops have raided Khan Younis repeatedly to kill or capture militants behind constant rocket and mortar salvoes against settlements. But the attacks by the elusive, mobile mortar squads have persisted, although they only rarely cause casualties. |