Israeli forces opened fire on a group of Palestinian gunmen as they attempted to cross the Gaza border, with Palestinian health officials claiming three men were killed.
The IDF said an attack helicopter and a tank were used after officers spotted “a number of armed suspects adjacent to the security fence” in the northern Gaza Strip.
The men who died were named as 23-year-old Muhammad Abu Namus, 22-year-old Mahmoud al-Walida and Muhammad Taramsi, 21.
The strikes came after three rockets were launched at Israel from the coastal enclave earlier Saturday evening.
Two were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, the Israeli army said. No injuries were reported.
In retaliation, the Israel Air Force struck Hamas targets in the north and south of the Strip overnight, Haaretz reported.
The Israeli army said that Israeli fighter jets attacked "two Hamas underground terrorist infrastructures."
Hamas called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, warning that “the rage and stress that the Palestinian people live in is going to blow up in Israel’s face”.
