Israel tank fire hurts seven in Gaza

Gaza City:  Israeli tanks fired into the Gaza Strip yesterday, wounding seven Palestinians and leaving two of them in critical condition, Palestinian medical officials told AFP.

The shell hit near the Karni border post east of Gaza City, according to the medics, who said the injured included three elderly men, and four other men, including two who were in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses said all those injured were farmers.

Israeli security officials initially insisted no tank fire was involved in the incident, but the army later admitted to firing on militants.

"A preliminary inquiry into the incident found that tank shells were fired" a military spokesman told AFP. Meanwhile Israel was accused of violating Turkish-Cypriot airpspace yesterday. Turkey scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane, the Turkish high command.

Relations between former allies Turkey and Israel have fallen apart since Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with pro-Palestinian activists.

Plane scrambled

"A plane belonging to Israel, the model of which could not be identified, violated KKTC [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus] airspace [above its territorial waters] five times," the military said.

"In response to this situation, our 2XF-16 plane based at Incirlik was scrambled and our planes carried out patrol flights in KKTC airspace, preventing the said plane from continuing to violate KKTC airspace," said the statement, posted on the Turkish general staff's website.

Israel has worked to enhance ties with Cyprus and Greece as its relations with Turkey have frayed.

The eastern Mediterranean has recently seen joint Israeli military manoeuvres with its partners, as well as long-distance training by Israel's air force for a possible strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The Israelis use warplanes and pilotless drones, as well as naval craft, to patrol their natural gas fields.

Turkey stirred fears of a possible confrontation at sea by saying last year it would boost its naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean.