Israeli shelling kills Palestinian in Gaza

GAZA, Apr 9 (Reuters) The Israeli army fired artillery shells at two Palestinian security posts in the northern Gaza Strip today, killing one person and wounding 14, Palestinian security sources said.

They said an artillery shell landed on a small security base east of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun as well as on another position on the southern outskirts of the town.

A civilian was killed and 14 people, civilians and policemen, were wounded, the sources said.

The Israeli army said the strikes were at locations on the outskirts of Beit Hanoun used by militants to fire rockets into Israel.

An army spokesman said that Palestinian security forces and civilians were warned through leaflets dropped over northern Gaza several days ago as well as via liaison offices to keep away from rocket launch pads on the edge of Beit Hanoun.

''We informed them they must ensure they are not in areas from where rockets are fired because Israel will not put up with the firing of Qassam (rockets) and we will attack the launch pads,'' a spokesman said.

Israel has ratcheted up military attacks, including artillery fire, on Gaza since the new Palestinian government led by the militant Islamist group Hamas took power.

The air strikes and artillery barrages into Gaza in recent days have followed almost daily rocket fire from the coastal strip, which Israel withdrew from last year after 38 years of occupation. The makeshift rockets rarely cause any casualties.

The army has killed 14 Palestinians over the past two days in the deadliest spate of Israeli military attacks in Gaza for five months.

Yesterday, eight Palestinian militants were killed in two separate air strikes. The army also killed five militants and the five-year-old son of one of them in a strike on a car as it left a militant training base in southern Gaza on Friday.

Reuters PG GC1320