A Palestinian woman was killed when Israeli tank shells hit her home east of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip today, the southern city's Nasser hospital said.
The hospital identified the woman as Zeina Al-Amour, 54. The tank shelling came in response to a mortar attack by Gaza militants on Israeli forces, the Israeli army said.
Amour is the first fatality in the latest escalation between the Israeli army and Hamas, the militant movement which rules the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said there have been 10 incidents of Palestinian mortar and gun attacks on Israeli forces operating near the border fence since Wednesday, responding with air strikes and artillery shellings.
Hamas has accused Israeli forces of encroaching into Gazan territory.
The uptick in violence, the first time the two sides have fired at each other directly since a 2014 war, has raised fears that a ceasefire agreement could fail.
