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Israel attacks Gaza after Palestinian sniper fire

Tanks and airstrike deployed after Palestinian sniper attack

Tom Mendelsohn
Wednesday 24 December 2014 07:04 EST
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Abdullah Wahdan’s family homes were destroyed during air strikes in July. Two members of his family were killed then and four others were died in subsequent bombings
Abdullah Wahdan’s family homes were destroyed during air strikes in July. Two members of his family were killed then and four others were died in subsequent bombings (Motaz Al-Aaraj)

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The Israeli army has deployed tanks and called an airstrike on targets in Gaza after its troops were attacked by Palestinian snipers as they patrolled the Israeli side of the border.

It said it "immediately responded" to the Palestinian attack - on a routine patrol in the southern part of the region - on Wednesday.

According to reports, one Hamas militant was shot dead by Israeli forces in the original engagement.

Hamas sources named the dead man as Tayseer Asmairi, a member of its armed wing's monitoring unit in the southern Gaza Strip, but the group did not immediately comment on the sniper fire.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not comment on casualties

Gaza residents said the sound of explosions and gunfire lasted about half an hour.

This summer, Israel and Hamas fought a 50-day war, and on Friday Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel, prompting a retaliatory airstrike on a Hamas base.

Fighting came to an end after Egypt brokered a truce in 26 August.

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