JERUSALEM – An Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car in the northern Gaza Strip late Saturday, killing a Palestinian man and wounding a second occupant, Palestinian officials said.
The airstrike came shortly after Palestinian militants fired three rockets into southern Israel. One of the rockets scored a direct hit on a house in the Israeli border town of Sderot, police said. Officials said there were no injuries.
The Palestinian officials said the car was struck near the rocket launch site. Medical officials identified the dead man as a 37-year-old Gaza resident. Security officials said the man was a civilian and not affiliated with any militant group. The identity and condition of the second person weren't immediately known.
The Israeli army was looking into the report.
Three Palestinian militant groups — Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades — claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. In a joint statement, they said the attack was to avenge the deaths of three militants killed earlier Saturday in the West Bank.
The fighting threatened to strain a cease-fire declared last November between Israel and militants in Gaza. The truce has brought a sharp drop in fighting, though sporadic rocket attacks have continued. Israeli officials have said they will not tolerate continued rocket fire.
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