Israeli strike kills three Palestinians in Gaza

Three Palestinians were killed this morning in an Israeli military strike near the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian medical officials said.

The military said it fired heavy guns at the area after three Palestinian militants launched two home-made rockets that hit the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon.

A relative of the dead men, Mohammed Kasarna, said a group of Palestinian fighters had set up a launcher in the area to fire rockets, but local residents told them to leave.

As the militants were leaving, a tank shell hit the area, wounding a 17-year-old, who later died, Kasarna said. Two clansmen who went to his aid were killed when another tank shell struck, he said.

Medical officials said the two were aged 55 and 65.

Three other people were wounded in the attack near an agricultural college east of Beit Hanoun, they said.