Israel shells southern Gaza, 5 injured

Israeli forces fired a barrage of artillery shells on the southern Gaza Strip on Monday morning injuring five Palestinians, as Gaza brigades fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel. More than ten Israeli artillery shells landed near Ammar Ibn Yasser Mosque east of Khan Younis, causing damage to the minaret and a water tower, they said. Five Palestinians were moderately injured by shelling in the nearby border town of Khuzaa, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told Palestinian news agency (Ma’an). Meanwhile, an ministry of education official Ahmad Najjar said that five schools in the southern Gaza Strip were evacuated for safety reasons. An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces were responding to a volley of rockets fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, but could not provide further details. She said up to 30 rockets had hit southern Israel early Monday, with no immediate reports of injuries of damage. Hamas’ military wing Izz Addin Al-Qassam Brigades and the Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the fire, saying they were targeting Israeli military bases in Kerem Shalom, Kissufim, Sufa and Al-Ayn in response to an airstrike on Sunday. On Sunday evening, an Israeli airstrike on a motorbike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip injured eleven Palestinians, including five children. Israel’s army said it had targeted two jihadi militants.