Israeli tank fire killed a 9-year-old Palestinian girl in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian medical workers said. They said the girl's remains had been recovered from a house in the village of Qarara, east of Khan Younis, that had been struck by the tank fire. She was inside at the time of the shelling.
According to Reuters, an Israeli military spokesman said a ground force had attacked Palestinian gunmen in the central Gaza Strip who had been attempting to fire rockets into Israel from a built-up area. He said he was unaware of any civilian casualties.
This week Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials have been discussing calm prospects and possible broader military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
