/ 7 March 2009

Medic: Israeli strike kills member of Gaza rocket squad

A member of a Gaza rocket squad was killed and two others were wounded on Saturday in what a Palestinian medic said was an Israeli airstrike.

The military said it did not carry out any operations in Gaza on Saturday.

The dead man was identified as Mahmoud Fattouh (25), a member of the violent Islamic Jihad group, according to Dr Moawiya Hassanain, a Gaza
health official. Two Islamic Jihad members were wounded in the incident near the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.

The Islamic Jihad squad was targeted as it fired rockets toward Israel, according to Hassanain and Islamic Jihad spokesperson Abu Ahmed.

The Israeli military confirmed that at least five rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on Saturday, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers separately declared a ceasefire on January 18, after a three-week Israeli military offensive in Gaza. However, talks on a durable truce have hit a snag, and rocket fire and airstrikes continue. Islamic Jihad, far smaller than Hamas, is most involved in rocket fire. — Sapa-AP