Israeli fire claims three Palestinians’ lives

GAZA CITY, May 27 (AFP): Israeli tank fire at an Islamic Jihad observation post killed three Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the enclave's health ministry and sources from the militant movement said.

The ministry identified those killed as Hussein al-Amour (25) and Abdul Haleem al-Naqa (28). The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a ministry spokesman said.

Israel's military said in a statement that the tank fire came after soldiers detonated an explosive device that had been placed near the border fence, targeting its troops.

Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, but there were no reports of casualties.

The military said the operation was in response to a brief incursion across the border earlier in the day by Palestinians who immediately fled back into Gaza.

It added that the strike was also in retaliation for repeated Palestinian attempts to damage the border fence and "security infrastructure" during ongoing border protests.