2 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike in S. Gaza, 2 others die of wounds: civil defense

GAZA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinians were killed on Wednesday when an Israeli airstrike targeted a civilian vehicle in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Gaza's Civil Defense and local residents.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense, told Xinhua that an Israeli aircraft targeted the civilian vehicle while it was traveling in the al-Mawasi area, killing two Palestinians and injuring several others.

He said the Civil Defense crew had transported the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Local residents said the Israeli strike hit a civilian vehicle in the area, adding that the attack caused casualties among those inside the vehicle.

Also on Wednesday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press statement that the Israeli army had killed Mohammed Abu Alwan, head of Hamas finance department, in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip

Hamas has not commented on the Israeli statement or the reported killing of Abu Alwan.

Separately, Basal said a Palestinian woman died of critical injuries sustained from Israeli army gunfire in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

A young Palestinian man also died of wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on a gathering of Palestinians on al-Nasr Street in Gaza City on Tuesday night, according to Basal.

Meanwhile, local residents said the Israeli army carried out demolitions of residential buildings in areas where its forces were deployed northeast of Khan Younis, amid heavy tank fire in the surrounding areas.

The residents also reported Israeli artillery shelling of eastern areas of Khan Younis, while Israeli tanks opened fire east of the Bureij refugee camp, accompanied by artillery shelling in the area.