Palestinians: Child, Hamas man die in Gaza

Munitions expert reportedly killed in missile strike; one-year-old dies of shrapnel wounds
Reuters

A year-old Palestinian girl and a senior munitions expert for Hamas were killed in separate missile strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medical officials and Hamas sources said.

The Hamas man, Eyad al-Ashram, died when a missile fired by the IDF struck open ground after dark in the north of the Gaza Strip where 35 Palestinians have now been killed since Wednesday.

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The Israeli army confirmed it had targeted the area.

One-year-old Malak al-Kafarna died of a shrapnel wound to the head some hours after a missile landed near her home in Beit Hanoun, also in the north, Raed al-Arini, a doctor at Shifa hospital said. She was the second infant killed this week.

Hamas officials described the explosion, in which four other civilians were also wounded, as being caused by an Israeli surface-to-surface missile. Some residents in the area have also reported that improvised rockets fired by Palestinians at Israel have fallen short and landed inside Palestinian territory.

Earlier Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to stop all strikes in Gaza and urged Palestinian groups to halt ongoing rocket attacks on Israel, implying that the Qassams targeting Israeli communities hurt the Palestinians.

"It is in the interest of the Palestinian people not to give Israel any pretext to continue its aggressions," a statement from the Palestinian leader's office said.