Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

oPt + 1 more

Israeli air strike destroys Gaza home, no injuries

GAZA, April 16 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike destroyed a house in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Thursday, the first such attack on the Palestinian enclave in over a month, the Israeli army and residents said. No one was injured in the blast. Hamas officials said the house, located near the border fence with Israel, was empty at the time.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the air strike, saying the target was a booby-trapped building.

It was the first Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip since March 12, the spokesman said.

Israel launched a 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip in late December with the stated goal of stopping cross-border rockets fired by Palestinian militants.

According to a Palestinian rights group, 1,417 Palestinians, including 926 civilians, were killed in the fighting. Israel disputes those figures.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Writing by Adam Entous, Editing by Angus MacSwan)