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Two killed in latest Israeli airstrike on Gaza

Two killed and six wounded in Gaza on Friday by Israeli air strikes
The wreckage of a car hit by Israeli air strike (AA)

Two Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli airstrike that rocked the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Osama Hasan, 29, and Mohamed al-Faseih, 24, were both killed when an Israeli aircraft fired on a civilian vehicle in Gaza City's al-Shatai refugee camp, local officials said.

"The two men were torn apart in the attack," Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodrah told Anadolu Agency. Israeli authorities did not comment on the strike.

Friday's attack came shortly after six Palestinians, including two children and a pregnant woman were injured by Israeli artillery fire in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A mosque was also hit by Israeli artillery fire in the area.

Israel has mounted attacks in the Gaza Strip and a massive detention campaign in the West Bank since three Jewish settlers went missing in the occupied territory two weeks ago.

Israel accuses the Gaza-based Hamas movement of kidnapping the three settlers, a claim the Palestinian group denies. 

Since the three teenage settlers was first reported missing near the Gush Etzion settlement block in mid-June, at least eight Palestinians have been killed and almost 600 arrested including several Hamas-affiliated lawmakers.

No group has thus far claimed responsibility for the settlers' disappearance, but Israel’s Intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, has named two Hamas members as key suspects in the incident.

The US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, Martin Indyk also handed in his resignation on Friday, in possibly the most serious sign in weeks that the latest Israel-Palestine peace talks are beyond salvage.

An anonymous US official told Reuters of the decision although he did not specify the reason.

The move was widely expected however, since the stalling of the peace talks in April over discussions around the release of Palestinian prisoners.

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