Israeli Strikes Kill Four in Gaza, Medics Say

At least four Palestinians, including children, were killed Tuesday by Israeli fire in Gaza City and central Gaza, Palestinian medics said.

A medical source at al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera that three people, two of them children, were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack in the al-Kateeba district west of Gaza City. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said a separate strike in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, killed at least one person.

Reuters reported four dead, three of them children. The BBC reported two children and a woman killed in western Gaza City, plus a third child killed in a separate incident in central Gaza.

The Israeli military said only that it struck several targets in Gaza "in order to remove threats to the security forces," and that none of its troops were hurt.

What Happened on the Ground

Unconfirmed local reports cited by the BBC say an Israel-backed Palestinian militia carried out a raid, and that Israeli shelling and air strikes followed after the operation was discovered.

Initial Palestinian accounts described a special Israeli unit moving into a crowded area using a van and motorcycles. The BBC said it was not clear whether those involved were Israeli forces or members of the Israel-backed militia, and that a local source believed a senior Hamas security official was the target.

Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said he counted at least 13 drones over the area. "For 35 minutes there were nonstop attacks involving drones, three of them hovering at a dangerously low level," he said, adding that security personnel on the ground reported spotting special forces and exchanging fire.

Israel's Channel 12 reported explosions heard across the Strip. The Palestinian news network Quds reported missiles and quadcopter drones were used.