Israeli air strike kills three Palestinians in Gaza

A witness confirmed Israeli tanks and bulldozers had tried to enter the area.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the territory s Hamas-run health ministry said.
"Three martyrs have died in a Zionist (Israeli) strike," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
The three were members of the Al-Quds Brigades, a statement from the group said.
It said they had been killed after firing mortars in a bid to try and prevent "an Israeli incursion east of Khan Yunis."
A witness confirmed Israeli tanks and bulldozers had tried to enter the area.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out an air strike, targeting Islamic Jihad militants who had fired at troops.

"Moments ago, terrorists affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the southern Gaza Strip fired a mortar shell at IDF (army) forces. An IAF aircraft responded immediately in order to prevent further attacks on Israeli civilians and targeted the terrorist squad," it said.
"Direct hits were confirmed."
The air strike came just hours after an unmanned aircraft of the sort Israel uses for surveillance and missile strikes crashed in the same area, just east of Khan Yunis.
It was unclear if the two incidents were related.
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source ;dunya news
  

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Israel limits Friday access to Al-Aqsa Mosque

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli police said they will limit access for Muslim men to Jerusalem s Al-Aqsa mosque compound during Friday prayers to prevent possible clashes following services.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said on Thursday that men under the age of 50 will be barred from Friday prayers, based on intelligence of plans for unrest, with security forces bolstering their presence in the area.
The decision comes after police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at the compound on Tuesday, hours ahead of a debate in the Israeli parliament on Jews  right to pray at the compound, which is currently denied.
The discussion, which did not result in a vote or any practical measures, sparked fury in the Muslim world, with the parliament of Jordan -- the custodian of the site -- voting to expel Israel s envoy and its premier warning Amman might review its peace treaty with Israel.
And the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday condemned the debate as a "dangerous escalation," calling it part of Israel s goal to "Judaise Jerusalem."
The flashpoint compound sits above the Western Wall plaza and houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, and is Islam s third-holiest site.
It is also Judaism s holiest place, being the site of the first and second Jewish temples.
Posted By :: Muhammad Usman

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