Israel kills 9 in Gaza in deadliest day in months

GAZA, (Reuters) – Israeli air strikes and shelling  killed nine Palestinians in the Gaza Strip today, medical  officials said, in the deadliest day of conflict in the enclave  in months.
Palestinian medical officials said three youths aged 12, 16  and 17 who were playing football and an adult relative were  killed by Israeli shelling, and five militants were killed later  in two separate air strikes elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
Today’s death toll was the highest for a single day in  months, provoking calls from militants for revenge, condemnation  by a U.N. official and a call from the Palestinian prime  minister for foreign intervention to stop the violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised for the  civilian casualties and said Israel had no intention of seeking  a further escalation of the conflict, but would defend itself  against rocket fire aimed at its citizens.
Hamas has stepped up rocket fire aimed at Israel after a  hiatus since the two sides fought a war two years ago, and said  its fighters had fired more than two dozen mortar shells and  rockets at the weekend.
Israel has retaliated with air and ground assaults, saying  it was targeting militants firing rockets and mortar shells at  its towns and cities.
In today’s raids, Israel killed five militants of the  Islamic Jihad group in two air strikes, one of which took place  east of Gaza City, Hamas officials and medical staff said.
Israel said one group of militants had been preparing to  fire a rocket and the same men had shot a rocket that struck a  house in the Israeli city of Beersheba last month.