Israeli fire kills two people in Gaza, medics say

CAIRO, Sept 23 - An Israeli airstrike killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health officials said.

Medics said the two men were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in western Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. Two other people were wounded, they added.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had struck a militant and that more information would be released later. No Palestinian militant group claimed the two dead men.

Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli airstrikes have continued.

At least 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory's health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed. REUTERS