Two Palestinians killed in Gaza, Israel denies attack

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Two Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza Strip, local sources said on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses and paramedics said an Israeli missile hit a motorbike, killing two riders, which Israeli army spokesman has denied.

The two killed, identified as Hassan Ghazi Nasrallah and Mustafa al-Sultan, are members of Islamic Jihad armed wing Saraya al-Quds, according to Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, and the militant group.

According to al-Qedra, clashes between young Palestinian protestors and Israeli soldiers continued on Tuesday at the border areas between Gaza and Israel, with five moderately injured by live bullets so far.

Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces survey the scene of an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, December 12, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The tension in the Gaza Strip has been escalating since US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week. Several rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into Israel over the past few days.

On Monday, Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket fired by militants in Gaza. Shortly afterward, Israel responded with tank fire and air strikes targeting positions of Hamas.

After the explosion on Tuesday that killed the two militants, an Israeli military statement said: "Contrary to Palestinian reports ... the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not attack in the northern Gaza Strip."

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Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency