Middle East: An Israeli helicopter air strike killed two Palestinian militants from Hamas in Gaza yesterday after a rocket fired by members of the Islamist group seriously wounded an Israeli civilian, medics said.
The Israeli army confirmed the strike, saying the helicopter fired a missile shortly after the men launched a rocket from northern Gaza. They were the first Hamas fighters killed by Israel since November.
A second helicopter air strike on Sunday struck close to a car being driven by Hamas militants, but they escaped, witnesses and medics said.
An army spokeswoman said the car was carrying rockets and that the group inside was "on the way" to firing them. The strikes came hours after an Israeli man was wounded when a makeshift Hamas rocket landed near a school in the Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza border.
The killing of the Hamas militants was also the first by Israel since the ruling Islamist group ended a 16-month truce on Friday after seven Palestinians, including three children, were killed on a Gaza beach on a day of Israeli shelling.
Israel has said the killings were a mistake, although it has not admitted responsibility.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed his condolences and promised an investigation into the incident.
- (Reuters)