Israeli Child Killed İn Gaza Mortar Attack On Negev

A four-year-old Israeli child was killed Friday when a mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip struck Israel's southern Negev region – the first Israeli fatality since violence re-erupted in the region on Tuesday.



"Sadly a 4-year-old child dies from his wounds after mortar strike in the Negev region. Damage caused to buildings and cars in area," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted.



Israeli army radio confirmed the death, which raised the Israeli death toll from the recent violence to 68 – 64 soldiers killed in ground operations inside the Gaza Strip and four civilians killed by Palestinian rocket fire.



Violence flared up again between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza on Tuesday following the collapse of Egypt-hosted indirect talks aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire deal, with Israel accusing Palestinian resistance factions of breaking a temporary truce with a rocket barrage.



The claim was denied by Hamas, however, which in turn accused Israel of attempting to derail the ceasefire talks in Cairo.



Since hostilities began on July 7, at least 2091 Palestinians have been killed – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 10,000 injured by Israeli attacks across the beleaguered Gaza Strip.



Since 2007, the coastal strip has reeled under a crippling Israeli blockade that has taken an enormous toll on the coastal territory's economy and played havoc with residents' livelihoods.



By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout



englishnews@aa.com.tr



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