Mortars hit Gaza settlements; 2 Palestinians die in Gaza camp

Palestinian militants fired a barrage of mortar shells at the Netzer Hazani settlement in southern Gaza Strip Thursday, wounding one man and damaging a house, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The attacks came hours after IDF troops wound up their second operation in a week in the nearby Khan Yunis refugee camp, aimed at halting the missile fire on nearby settlements and military bases. Two Palestinian gunmen were killed in exchanges of fire with IDF troops Thursday, sources said.

The militants fired 14 mortar shells at the Netzer Hazani settlement, in what settlers said was one of the heaviest attacks in the last four years of fighting.

In the Erez industrial zone north of the Strip, an anti-armor missile hit a carpentry workshop. No casualties were reported, but the workshop was heavily damaged.

In yet another attack on Thursday, the Netzarim settlement was hit by a volley of five mortar-shells. No damage or casualties were reported.

Two more mortar shells hit a Jewish settlement in southern Gaza. No damage or casualties were reported.

Also Thursday, IDF troops entered the Palestinian village of Um Al Nasser in northern Gaza, cutting it off from the rest of the territory and taking over the municipal building, witnesses said.

The military said troops were searching for weapons caches.

	Palestinians carrying the body of an Islamic Jihad member during his funeral in Gaza on Thursday, a day after he was shot dead by IDF troops. (AP)