This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-conflict-mortar-attack-kills-4yearold-boy-in-israel-9686493.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Israel-Gaza conflict: Mortar attack kills 4-year-old boy in Israel Israel-Gaza conflict: Mortar attack kills 4-year-old boy in Israel
(about 1 hour later)
A 4-year-old boy has been killed in a mortar attack in an Israeli village near the border with the Gaza Strip, according to rescue officials. A four-year-old boy has become the first child to be killed in Israel in the six week conflict with Gaza, during a mortar attack near the border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli rescue officials said.
The attack, which marked the first Israeli child to die in the conflict, occurred early Friday evening in a southern Israeli village along the frontier. The attack occurred early on Friday evening in a southern Israeli village along the frontier, according to Eli Bin, head of Israel's national rescue service, as he confirmed the death in TV interviews.
Eli Bin, head of Israel's national rescue service, confirmed the death in TV interviews. The death is also the first Israeli death since a new three-day-long round of fighting erupted between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday, following the collapse of Egyptian-brokered cease-fire talks.
It was the first Israeli death since a new round of fighting erupted on Tuesday between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers following the collapse of cease-fire talks in Cairo.
In six weeks of fighting, more than 2,000 Palestinians and 68 Israelis – mainly soldiers - have died.In six weeks of fighting, more than 2,000 Palestinians and 68 Israelis – mainly soldiers - have died.
The death comes after an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza farm killed two Palestinians, a Gaza health official said. By mid-morning, Israel had launched about 20 airstrikes on Gaza, while Gaza militants fired at least 26 rockets at Israel, the Israeli military said. The death comes after an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza farm killed two Palestinians, a Gaza health official said.
Friday also saw gunmen in Gaza City kill 18 suspected Israeli spies on Friday, in response to Israel's deadly airstrikes against top Hamas leaders. On Thursday, an Israeli airstrike on a house in southern Gaza killed three senior military leaders of Hamas. By early afternoon, Gaza militants had fired at least 56 rockets and mortar shells at Israel, while Israel carried out at least 28 airstrikes in Gaza, the military said.
Two of the alleged spies killed on Friday were women, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which called for an immediate halt to what it said were “extra-judicial executions”. Friday also saw gunmen in Gaza City kill 18 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel on Friday. The attack was in response to Israel's deadly airstrikes against top Hamas leaders on Thursday which killed three senior military leaders of Hamas - the highest-ranking militants to die in the six-week war.
Fighting between Hamas and Israel has restarted since the collapse of Egyptian-led ceasefire talks earlier this week. Hamas rejected an Egyptian truce proposal under which Israel would gradually ease its blockade of Gaza, without giving specific commitments. Militants wearing masks and dressed in black gunned down seven of those condemned, whose faces were covered and hands bound, in front of worshippers emerging from the Omari mosque on Palestine Square, in the first public executions in the enclave since the 1990s.
The renewed exchanges have dashed hopes for a lasting truce after a month-long. Two of the alleged spies killed on Friday were women, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which called for an immediate halt to what it said were "extra-judicial executions".
PA/Reuters A further 11 were killed at an abandoned police station near Gaza City, Hamas security officials said.
The renewed exchanges since Tuesday have dashed hopes for a lasting truce.
Additional reporting by PA/Reuters