Jerusalem: The Israeli army says that a soldier was killed in an anti-tank missile attack near the Gaza Strip, the first military death in three days of fighting with Hamas.
The army identified the soldier killed in Wednesday morning’s attack as Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, 21.
An officer and another soldier were wounded in the attack.
Rockets streamed out of Gaza and Israel pounded the territory with airstrikes Wednesday as the most severe outbreak of violence since a 2014 war took on many hallmarks of that devastating 50-day conflict, with dozens killed and no resolution in sight.
Palls of gray smoke rose in Gaza, as Israeli airstrikes levelled two apartment towers and hammered the militant group’s multiple security installations, destroying the central police compound.
In Israel, barrages of hundreds of rockets fired by Gaza’s Hamas rulers and other militants at times overwhelmed missile defenses and brought air raid sirens and explosions echoing across Tel Aviv, Israel’s biggest metropolitan area, and other cities.
The death toll in Gaza rose to 48 Palestinians, including 14 children and three women, according to the Health Ministry. More than 300 people have been wounded, including 86 children and 39 women. Six Israelis, including three women and a child, were killed by rocket fire, and dozens of people were wounded.
AP