Israeli shelling kills Palestinian

16/02/2009| IslamWeb

One person has been killed and five others injured after Israel shelled a target in the north of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli spokesman said on Monday that the army had "no knowledge" of the attack.

"We have no knowledge of any firing by the Israeli army but we are looking into it," the spokesman was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Muawiya Hussanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, named the man killed in the attack as Rajab Sobeh.

The attack followed the firing of two rockets from the northern Gaza Strip into southern Israel early on Monday by Palestinian fighter.

The rockets exploded without causing any casualties, an Israeli army spokesperson said.

One of the rockets hit a farm, causing slight damage, while the other struck wasteland.

The attacks are the latest between the two sides following a ceasefire declared on January 18, after Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip in which more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed.

Talks, brokered by Egypt, are currently underway to establish a lasting truce between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

But Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has said that no deal will be struck until Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian fighters in 2006, is released.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli Air Force F-16 jet released flares after bombing the town of Beit Hanun, northern Gaza Strip in January 2009.

Al-Jazeera