A Palestinian militant was killed and two civilians were wounded late Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Palestinian medics and witnesses said according to dpa. The armed wing of the pro-Hamas Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) said in a note to reporters that Khaled Sahmoud, a 23-year-old commander of the rockets unit, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on eastern Khan Younis. Medics in Gaza said that a child and an old man were also slightly injured in the airstrike. According to PRC officials, an exchange of fire took place between militants and several Israeli soldiers who were patrolling the border area between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Witnesses said that Israeli helicopter gunships fired rockets at the militants. It is the first escalation of violence since late August, when around 30 Palestinians were killed in clashes between Gaza militants and Israelis.
