Israeli killings resume in Gaza Strip

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Israeli forces have killed two Palestinians in Gaza, including a 75-year-old civilian, in one of Israel's biggest offensives in the coastal strip in months.

Relatives of the elderly man killed on Thursday in Bait Hanun said he was killed by a shot to the head when he went on to his balcony to bring his disabled son inside.

Israeli troops fired from a rooftop, residents said.

The Israeli army said its forces were attacking only armed groups, but declined to comment on the civilian killing.

"We have no knowledge of such an incident at the moment," an Israeli army spokeswoman said.

Witnesses said the second Palestinian was killed in fighting with Israeli forces in Bait Hanun.


The offensive

Israeli soldiers backed by tanks and aircraft killed nine Palestinians on Wednesday around Bait Hanun. One Israeli soldier was also killed.

Troops entered northern Gaza before dawn on Wednesday in an operation the government said was aimed at destroying sites used to fire rockets at Israel.

The raid is one of the biggest since Israel carried out an offensive in Gaza to press for the release of a soldier captured by Palestinian factions on June 25 in a cross-border raid.

Despite the Israeli offensive, Palestinian armed groups have fired a series of homemade rockets at the Israeli border town of Sderot from northern Gaza in recent days.

Israeli media said at least two rockets were fired on Thursday, causing no injuries.

About 280 Palestinians have been killed in the four-month-old Israeli offensive in Gaza.