Israeli forces fire on Gaza Strip, 4 injured

Three Palestinians were injured in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday as Israeli airstrikes continued across the coastal enclave. Later Wednesday morning 17-year-old Yahya Hattab was injured by shrapnel, when Israeli forces fired artillery shells at Wadi al-Salqa, south of Deir al-Balah, medics said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she had no record of the incident. Overnight, Israeli jets struck a blacksmith workshop in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, leaving one man moderately injured, witnesses said. Nearby, an Israeli helicopter fired on a civilian vehicle near Ali Ibn Abu Talib Mosque. The driver narrowly escaped after his vehicle was damaged, a Ma'an reporter said. Warplanes also fired on a group of Palestinian militants east of Gaza City. Two were injured and evacuated to hospital. There were also raids on a military site in al-Sudaniyya, northwest of Gaza City, and an agricultural area in Rafah, south Gaza. Residents said Wednesday morning that Israeli jets continued to hover over the Gaza Strip. Israeli military tanks also fired several shells across the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. The Israeli army said it had had targeted seven sites in the Gaza Strip overnight, in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. An Israeli military spokeswoman said seven rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight, without causing damage or injuries. Israeli news site Ynet said one projectile from Gaza landed in an open area near Negev city Beersheba. The flare-up in violence comes after a Palestinian source told Reuters that the sides agreed to cease fire at 11 p.m. Tuesday at the behest of Egypt, which has mediated between the foes in the past. Israel had no immediate comment. Israeli airstrikes killed four men in northern Gaza on Monday and two teenagers were killed by Israeli shelling on Tuesday morning. An Israeli army spokesman told Ma'an that 25 rockets were fired into southern Israel on Tuesday. The military wings of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees said they had fired projectiles across the border on Tuesday in response to the barrage of Israeli attacks. Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday for the first time in over a year. For months, Hamas has stayed on the sidelines and discouraged smaller militant groups from firing rockets into Israel.