Israeli forces killed seven Hamas men and three civilians including a girl Saturday in the Gaza Strip. On his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the U.N. Security Council to stop the Israeli military operation in the town of Beit Hanoun, where violence since Wednesday has led to the deaths of more than 40 Palestinians.
Abbas "asks the members of the council to move quickly and discuss the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories caused by the Israeli aggression," his spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, said in a statement, cited by the AP.
An Israeli air strike early Saturday destroyed a minivan, killing a Hamas activist and seriously injuring two others traveling in the vehicle, witnesses said. The minivan burst into flames, and medical officials said the force of the blast severed the legs of two occupants. Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said the men in the vehicle were all Hamas members.
Luaye al-Burnu, a local official in the Ezz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and responsible for manufacturing weapons died in the attack, a medical official told AFP news agency.
The air strike came on the fourth day of a massive Israeli offensive in Gaza Strip.
Six other Palestinian activists were killed Saturday while an Israeli officer was seriously wounded when an explosive device was thrown at occupation troops in northern Gaza Strip.
In another incident, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl was shot in the head and killed by an Israeli sniper, Palestinian officials said. Two civilians were killed Saturday when the wall of a building collapsed following Israeli fire.
Early Saturday, large military bulldozers started demolishing homes near a mosque that was the scene of a bloody standoff on Friday.
On Friday, at least 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Nine of the fatalities occurred in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun.
