A retaliatory airstrike by Israel killed three Islamic Jihad terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians were members of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported following the deadly strike on Tuesday afternoon.
“They were in confrontation with the occupation trying to stop the progress of Israeli military vehicles which were approaching the area,” said a statement issued by the Al-Quds Brigades.
Israeli infantry and engineering corps were performing routine work in the border area, according to reports, when they were fired on by a mortar shell.
“Terrorists must know that there is a price to pay when participating in aggression,” the Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
The incident occurred several hours after an Israeli Air Force drone crashed in southern Gaza in what is being called a technical malfunction. Members of the Islamic terror group Hamas reportedly retrieved the wreckage.
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