Two Palestinians Martyred in Israeli Raid West of Gaza City

Gaza, September 29 (KUNA) -- Two Palestinians were martyred and several others were injured early Tuesday morning as a result of an Israeli occupation airstrike that targeted a residential apartment in western Gaza City. Gaza Strip health authorities said in a statement that the bodies of the two martyrs were recovered, while ambulance crews transported several of the injured, including children, to Al-Shifa Hospital for treatment. For his part, the Civil Defense in Gaza Governorate reported that its teams participated in recovering the martyrs’ bodies and controlling the fires that broke out inside the apartment following the strike, while rescue and medical teams began evacuating the injured from the site. Eyewitnesses told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the strike caused severe damage to the residential apartment and adjacent buildings, and that the sound of the strike and the scale of the fire sparked panic among civilians and displaced persons in the area. On the other hand, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed in a joint statement that the airstrike “was an assassination operation targeting Ezzedine al-Bik, commander of the Northern Gaza Brigade in Hamas,” noting that he had survived a previous assassination attempt. (End) A/B / T.M.A.