Israel fired a missile into a refugee camp in Gaza today, killing a Palestinian in continuing violence that threatens to complicate an Israeli plan to withdraw from the occupied territory.
The air strike on Khan Younis followed a mortar attack by camp-based Palestinian militants on a nearby Jewish settlement that killed a woman yesterday, and the killings of three soldiers guarding another settlement on Thursday.
Researchers from the UN agency which cares for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, who inspected the scene this morning said that as many as 35 homes were destroyed, although they could not confirm how many were inhabited at the time.
Local witnesses say some of the houses are inhabited only during daylight hours as residents move to safer accommodation after nightfall. They said as many as 100 were made homeless.
An army spokesman said forces operated in the area as part of a drive against the firing of missiles and mortar bombs at Israeli settlements.