By Xinhua
Gaza/Ramallah : Two Palestinian militants were killed when an Israeli aircraft struck their car by one missile in southern Gaza City, medics and witnesses said.
The witnesses said that one missile hit a car that drove in Zeitoon neighborhood in southern Gaza City, adding that Palestinian ambulances took two bodies to Shifa Hospital in the City.
Hospital Officials said Thursday that the Israeli army killed 18 Palestinians within the last 24 hours in the West Bank and Gazain an unprecedented escalation of violence between the two sides.
Mo’aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance service in the Palestinian ministry of health said that 18 Palestinians were killed, among them 15 were killed in the Gaza Strip and three were in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, one Israeli citizen was also killed and three wounded after a homemade rocket hit a house in the town of Sderot in southern Israel. Israel vowed a tough retaliation against militants who launch rockets.
Later, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for attacking Israel by homemade rockets.