GAZA/JERUSALEM, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed and several others were injured on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, the first reported airstrike in about a week, according to local sources and the Israeli army.
Local sources and eyewitnesses told Xinhua that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a vehicle west of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Gaza's civil defense and medical sources said one was killed and several others were wounded in the strike, adding that civilians were targeted.
The Israeli army confirmed the strike in a statement, saying it had targeted "a Hamas cell commander in northern Gaza who planned to carry out attacks" against its troops in Gaza.
It added that Israeli forces deployed in the area would continue to operate to "eliminate any immediate threat."
Local sources in Gaza identified the target as Muhannad Saada. Hamas has not yet commented on the strike.
The attack came amid a relative lull in Israeli strikes in Gaza and efforts by the U.S.-led "Board of Peace" to advance a plan on Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported last week that the Israeli army planned to scale back its attacks in Gaza under U.S. pressure.
Hamas has agreed to the plan in principle, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week rejected a U.S.-backed 15-point Gaza peace proposal.
Since a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect in October last year, Israeli attacks have killed 1,259 people, bringing the overall death toll in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 to more than 73,300, according Gaza's health authorities. ■
