Israeli tank fire at an Islamic Jihad observation post killed two militants from the group in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian officials said. The Gazan health ministry identified those killed as Hussein al-Amour, 25, and Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, 28. The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a ministry spokesman said. A statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed the two as members. Islamic Jihad is the second-most powerful armed group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas, which runs the Palestinian enclave. Israel’s military said in a statement that the tank fire came after soldiers detonated an explosive device that had been placed near the border fence, targeting its troops. It said the explosive device had been hidden inside a pair of fence cutters. Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Hamas, but there were no reports of casualties. The military said the operation was in response to a brief incursion across the border earlier in the day by Palestinians who immediately fled back into Gaza. It added that the strike was also in retaliation for repeated Palestinian attempts to damage the border fence and “security infrastructure” during ongoing border protests. At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip since mass protests and clashes broke out on March 30, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry. Published in Daily Times, May 28th 2018.