Israel, Hamas blame each other for death of 6-year-old boy in Gaza (VIDEO)

23 Jun, 2012 11:53 / Updated 13 years ago

Relatives are mourning a six-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed in an alleged Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip. Israel claims the boy was killed by one of the Palestinians’ own rockets, but does not deny launching multiple other air strikes.

On Saturday Israel launched air raids on Palestinian territory following rocket fire from Gaza that wounded an Israeli man. Gaza health officials confirmed that at least four people had been killed and over 20 more wounded, including civilians. Israel confirmed its aircraft had struck two militant targets in Gaza overnight, saying it was a retaliatory raid. In the wake of the attacks, Hamas has threatened to call off an Egypt-brokered truce and escalate attacks on Israel.A six-year-old boy was also killed near the town of Khan Younis, and his father wounded. Hamas officials claim the death resulted from Israeli shelling.IDF is telling a radically different story.It says it conducted an investigation, and the “child was killed by a failed rocket launch from Gaza.”Israel claims Gaza militants have fired more than 130 rockets into its territory over the last week. The country’s authorities have urged the one million Israelis who live in the south to stay indoors for their safety. The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, has gathered senior officers to discuss the latest flare-up in violence.The strikes follow Monday’s skirmish between Israeli forces and three alleged militants who attacked workers on the border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Two militants were killed, while one managed to escape.