Israeli strike on Gaza kills a family of 8

GAZA, Oct 13 (AP/AFP/Reuters): An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip has killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said Sunday, as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants and pushed for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the territory's north.

Israel is also waging an air and ground campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when.

The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.

It said another seven people were wounded, including two women and a child in critical condition. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies and filmed funeral prayers held at the hospital.

More than a year into the war with Hamas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas and other armed groups because they operate in densely populated areas.

Hezbollah clashes after Israeli

troop infiltration attempts

Lebanon's Hezbollah group said it clashed twice with Israeli troops who attempted to infiltrate near a Lebanese border village on Sunday and claimed several other attacks overnight.

Hezbollah fighters detonated explosive devices at Israeli soldiers and "clashed with them as they attempted to infiltrate" twice near the Lebanese village of Ramia, the group said, reporting fighting that lasted about an hour. The group also claimed attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon and on the Israeli side of the border.

Israel orders evacuation of more

southern Lebanese towns

Israel ordered more evacuations and targeted a new location in northern Lebanon on Saturday, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Israel's escalating conflict with Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

At least 15 people were killed and 37 wounded in Israeli strikes across three different areas in Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said. One of the targeted locations was in the town of Deir Billa in northern Lebanon, which had not been struck before.

The Israeli military also said Hezbollah had fired nearly 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, without giving further details. It declared areas around some towns in north Israel closed to the public.

Also on Saturday, Israel's military ordered residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.

The order, communicated via a military statement, mentioned villages in southern Lebanon that have been recent targets of Israeli attacks, many of which are already almost empty.

The Israeli military said evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activities, claiming the group is using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel.