LOC19:05
16:05 GMT
GAZA, Oct 7 (KUNA) -- Israel stepped up military air action against Palestinian targets on Thursday, carrying out at least four strikes, latest of which was against a civilian car south of Gaza city.
An Israeli missile-equipped drone struck a Golf car passing on Al-Meghrafah bridge south of the city, firing a single rocket in the direction of the vehicle. The missile crashed close to the car wounding its four passengers, medical and security sources told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Near Beit Hanoun passageway, Israeli troops opened fire at a group of Palestinian workers who were collecting stones, wounding one. The worker, suffering from medium cuts, was transported to Martyr Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Earlier today, Israeli warplanes carried two raids targeting a training camp for Izz-Eddine Al-Qassam, the military arm of the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza city. Five Palestinians were wounded and massive damage was inflicted in these attacks.
The Israeli Army said the air strikes were in retaliation for firing two missiles, on Wednesday, in the direction of an Israeli town located close to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli warplanes also raided an empty farmland east of Zeitoun village, east of Gaza city. An air-to-surface missile caused a deep crater in a cultivated field in the region.
The new attacks coincided with intensive Israeli overflights over Gaza.
Israeli military said the raids early today were executed after Hamas fired missiles towards the Western Negev area in Israel.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Army said two Palestinian rockets fell on Ashkol town, east of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza Strip.
The escalated tit-for-tat attacks coincided with a crucial phase of the US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, with Washington trying to persuade its regional strategic ally, Israel, to cease settlement activities, as a tactic intended to entice the Palestinians pursue the peace talks.
Some Palestinian factions, namely the Islamists, have slammed the talks as a process that would not ultimately end up with attaining the Palestinians' rights and ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories. (end) mzt.hmo.rk KUNA 071905 Oct 10NNNN