IDF shelling
Photo: AFP
Gaza: 5 family members killed by IDF shell; Hamas commander hurt
Gaza medical officials say 14-year-old girl among victims of vehicle strike; Palestinians say five more killed in strike on mosque; army says member of Hamas' rocket-launching unit injured in aerial strike in Jabalya
Palestinian medical officials in the Gaza Strip reported Sunday that five people, a mother and her four children, were killed from an IDF shell fired at their car. A 14-year-old girl was among the victims, they said.
The attack, according to the Palestinians, took place in the al-Tafuach area, where the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim was located.
A short while later Palestinian sources reported that five people were killed in an IAF raid near a mosque in the Strip's north.
It is unclear whether the fatalities were gunmen or civilians.
Commentary
Ron Ben-Yishai
IDF escalating attacks? For first time since Gaza op's start, IDF artillery units shell targets in Strip. Meanwhile, Air Force hunts for senior Hamas terror activists in Strip, hits dozens of targets Saturday; Hamas officer killed after car hit by aircraft
Meanwhile, the military said a member of a Hamas' rocket-launching unit was injured during an aerial strike in Jabalya, in the northern Strip. According to the IDF, Muhammad Shalfuach's condition is unclear. Shalfuach was a member of Hamas' special forces.
Army officials estimate that more than 50 Hamas operatives have been killed and dozens of other terrorists have been injured in Gaza since the IDF launched its ground operation on Saturday.
According to the Palestinians, most of those killed were civilians and that the death count since the beginning of the fighting has reached more 500.
Earlier on Sunday, Hussam Hamdan, a senior Hamas member responsible for the organization's rocket fire, was killed in an air strike in Khan Younis. According to the IDF, he was the man behind the firing of Grad missiles towards the cities of Beersheba and Ofakim.
Muhammad Hilou, who was responsible for Hamas' special forces in Khan Younis and for the firing of long-range rockets, was also hurt in the strike.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
