Israeli occupation soldiers continued military incursions into Palestinian territories, for the second day in a row, causing considerable damage and claiming several lives. In the Gaza Strip yesterday, 14 Palestinians were killed in Gaza Strip, including two children and over 50 injured in Gaza City and Khan Younis during an Israeli army raid on the two areas.

Five of those killed were members of the Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad. Four were killed along with 9-year-old Izzedin Jundiya when an Israeli tank shot a shell directly at the group. The fifth, Raed Fanouna was killed when his car was targeted by an Israeli helicopter missile. Islamic Jihad sources in Gaza are accusing Israel of rigging Fanouna’s car with tracking devices and cameras, calling his death an assassination. Israel said its operation – the biggest since Hamas took control of the Strip two weeks ago – was an effort to thwart Palestinian operations and rockets. Many of the others killed in the clashes belonged to the Izzedin Al Qassam Brigades and the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wings of Hamas and Fateh respectively. Two Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the clashes.

This morning, 80 Israeli army vehicles invaded Nablus in the northern West Bank and were met with explosive devices planted by the resistance there. A group calling themselves “Knights of the nighttime, an offshoot of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for the operation. Eight Israeli soldiers were reported wounded in the attack, one seriously.

The old city of Nablus has been under curfew since and Israeli troops have turned several houses into military camps and arrested scored of Palestinians. Nablus residents have reported that Israeli troops set up army barricades around the city’s hospitals, especially the Rafidiya hospital and have prevented ambulances from reaching the scene of confrontations.