One person was killed and another wounded by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip today, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said it hit positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, from which rockets were being fired.

Earlier Wednesday, Israeli forces killed two members of Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank, a day after airstrikes in Gaza against the militant group killed 15 people, including fighters and children.

Ahmed Assaf, 19, and Rani Qatanat, 24, were killed by Israeli army fire in Qabatiyah, a village near Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

In addition, a 17-year-old Palestinian was wounded by bullets in the abdomen and chest, according to the same source, who added that the injuries “are described as very serious.”

Islamic Jihad – a Palestinian group designated as a “terrorist” group by Israel, the EU and the US – said in a statement that the two Palestinians were members of its armed wing.

The organization became the target of Israeli strikes in Gaza yesterday, Tuesday, in which several of its fighters were killed, as well as civilians, raising concerns about a new escalation of violence.

Early today, gunmen riding in a car opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Qabatiya, during an army operation to arrest a “wanted suspect”, the Israeli army said.

“The soldiers responded by firing at the two attackers and killed them,” he added. “Additionally, shots were fired in the area and suspects threw explosive devices at the soldiers.”

In the West Bank, around 20 people were arrested today as part of Israeli operations, according to the army and Palestinian sources.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health indicated for its part that three other people were wounded near Ramallah by the Israeli army and Jewish settlers.

Warnings on both sides

Islamic Jihad today warned “the enemy” that “the answer is coming”.

This morning residents of the Israeli areas bordering Gaza were ordered to stay close to shelters. Schools remained closed within a 40km radius of the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli state radio.

Israeli security officials are preparing “for any escalation scenario, on more than one front,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, Tuesday.

Reacting to the new Israeli strikes, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry today denounced “aggressive actions” that “may make the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories uncontrollable”.

The US called for “de-escalation on all sides” and UN Middle East envoy Tor Veneslmand called the death of civilians in the Gaza Strip “unacceptable”.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 125 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian woman and an Italian have been killed in violent incidents linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP tally based on official statements from authorities on both sides.

These statistics include on the Palestinian side fighters and civilians, including minors • and on the Israeli side mainly civilians, including minors, as well as three members of the Arab minority.