Two Palestinians killed in Gaza

GAZA CITY: Two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday with authorities in the Hamas-run territory blaming an Israeli strike, but Israel’s military immediately denying the claim.

The circumstances of the incident, which occurred near Gaza’s northern border with Israel, were initially unclear.Palestinian health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP the two men were killed “in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza after an Israeli strike targeted a motorcycle”.

The Israeli army immediately denied this, saying in a statement “contrary to Palestinian reports earlier today, the (army) did not attack in the northern Gaza Strip”.Qudra named the two men as Hussein Ghazi Nasrallah and Mustafa al-Sultan, both in their 20s.

Turkey chides Arabs for ‘weak’ reaction ahead of Jerusalem summit: Two Palestinian militants were killed in Gaza Tuesday in an explosion whose cause was unclear, with Israel firmly denying claims from authorities in the Hamas-run enclave that it was responsible.

The circumstances of the incident, which occurred near the Gaza Strip’s northern border with Israel, left open the question of whether the explosion was accidental.The Islamic Jihad Islamist militant group said the two men were part of its armed wing, confirming only that they died during a “jihad mission”.

It identified them as Hussein Ghazi Nasrallah, 25, and Mustafa al-Sultan, 29, saying they were part of the group’s engineering unit.The Palestinian health ministry initially said they had been targeted by an Israeli strike while riding a motorcycle, but that was immediately denied by the military.

The Islamic Jihad statement made no mention of an Israeli attack.At the scene of the incident a crater several feet deep was left, along with the burnt chassis of a motorcycle. Tuesday’s deaths came amid tensions between Palestinians and Israeli forces following US President Donald Trump’s announcement he would move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognise the city as Israel’s capital. Four Gazans, including two Hamas militants, have died since the announcement last Wednesday.