UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL HAMAS STATEMENTS
By Nour Abu Aisha and Hani al-Shaer
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least two Palestinians were martyred on Tuesday when Israel shelled a Hamas site in the northern Gaza Strip, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement.
According to ministry spokesman Asharaf al-Qidra, the bodies of the two slain Palestinians have since been taken to Gaza's Indonesia Hospital.
Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that the attack had occurred in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Israeli army said “terrorists” had opened fire on its soldiers “near a Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip”.
The statement added that an Israeli combat tank had responded by “targeting the position from which the shots were fired”.
No injuries to Israeli troops were reported, according to the same statement.
The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, has identified the two slain Palestinians as Abdul-Hafith Silawi and Ahmed Murjan, both 23, from the Jabalia refugee camp.
According to Hamas, both men were members of the Qassam Brigades.
In a subsequent statement, Hamas held Israel responsible for the death of the two fighters, with group spokesman Fawzi Barhoum warning Israel that it would “pay the price” for Tuesday’s attack.
Leading Hamas member Mushir al-Masri, for his part, described the attack as a “ceasefire violation” for which Israel would “suffer the consequences”.
Following a meeting with other resistance factions, al-Masri told reporters that the Palestinian resistance would “not allow Israel to breach the terms of the truce”.
Since Israel’s devastating 2014 military onslaught against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, a shaky ceasefire has remained in effect between the two sides.