An old Palestinian woman was killed as Israeli army renewed air and artillery strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian witnesses and medics said.

The witnesses said that Kamla al-Najjar, 75, was hit by an Israeli artillery shell directly when she was on her donkey cart on Saladin road in northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning.

Palestinian medics said that the body of the woman was torn off, adding that a passerby was also moderately wounded in the same incident and was shifted to Kamal Odwan hospital in northern Gaza to receive treatment.

They said that another two Israeli artillery shells landed in northeast of Gaza City and northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Thursday, wounding 16 Palestinians, five of them are in critical conditions.

Over Wednesday night, Israeli warplanes bombed a number of houses in western and northern Gaza city, some of the houses were targeted before.

In western Gaza City, a small hut used by a Palestinian fisherman was hit by three rockets fired from Israeli Apache helicopters, said the witnesses.

In northern Gaza City, Israeli warplanes also launched two rockets at a house, which was targeted by Israeli airstrike for the second time within 24 hours. But no casualty was reported in this airstrike.

The local residents said that the house belongs to Yousef al- Nejma, who is a member of Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of the ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

During the daytime of Wednesday, 23 Palestinians, including at least nine militants, three children and a disabled man, were killed in the Israeli offensives in Gaza Strip.

Source: Xinhua