Jerusalem • An Israeli laborer who was repairing the security fence along the border with Gaza was fatally shot Tuesday by a Palestinian sniper, according to the Israeli military, and Israel immediately responded by bombing targets it associated with militant groups in the Palestinian coastal territory.
A Palestinian girl, 3, was killed and at least four of her relatives were wounded when a shell landed in front of their home in a refugee camp, according to hospital officials in Gaza.
The deaths were the latest in a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence occurring against the background of difficult peace talks.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing of the Israeli laborer, but anticipating Israeli retaliation, Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, evacuated its security facilities. Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas government's Interior Ministry, praised the killing, calling it a "heroic operation."
The New York Times