The Israel Air Force attacked targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, hours after an Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a Palestinian-rigged bomb attack near the border. Palestinian witnesses also said by late Tuesday afternoon that Israeli tanks could be seen rolling into the Gaza Strip.
The incident near the border was the first deadly attack carried out by Palestinian militants since a cease-fire went into effect in the coastal strip 10 days ago.
The soldier, who served as an NCO in the army, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near an Israel Defense Forces patrol along the Gaza border, near the Kissufim crossing.
The wounded Israelis were identified as an officer, who sustained serious wounds, and an additional NCO and soldier, who were lightly hurt. The wounded were taken for treatment to the Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheva. The soldiers' families have been informed of the incident.
A Palestinian was reportedly killed in ensuing clashes between IDF soldiers and Gaza militants in the area. Heavy gunfire was audible along the border in central Gaza and Israeli helicopters hovered in the air, firing bursts from their machine guns, Palestinian witnesses said.
Gaza medical workers identified the Palestinian killed as a farmer.
Later Tuesday, the Israel Air Force targeted a motorcycle in the southern Gaza Strip, critically wounding two people, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. One of those wounded was a Hamas militant, said group spirces.