A 65-year-old Palestinian man and his 30-year-old daughter were killed at noon Monday when Israeli artillery shell blasted in their home to the east of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

Medical sources told the PIC reporter that Mohammed Al-Hassumi and his daughter Fayza were killed in the explosion of the artillery shell.

The latest victims bring to 23 the number of Palestinians killed at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces since Friday.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army has threatened to expand its aggression on Gaza Strip and increase its air strikes that could later turn into an all-out war.

Israeli war minister Ehud Barak vowed “severe reprisal” to the Palestinian firing of their locally made rockets on Israeli occupation targets adjacent to the Strip.

He said that Israel would continue to retaliate to the firing of rockets from Gaza and the army would strongly retaliate to any attempt to harm Israeli “citizens”.

Israeli army spokesman Yoav Mordechai said that his forces were prepared to launch a ground offensive on Gaza if the security conditions continued to deteriorate.

For his part, Israeli chief of staff Benny Gantz issued instructions to his armed forces to continue targeted killing of Palestinian resistance cadres and commanders involved in firing rockets at Israeli targets over the past three days.

An Israeli consultative meeting for security commanders claimed that 140 rockets were fired at Israel over the past three days.

Israel had started the violence in the region after assassinating leader of the popular resistance committees in Gaza on Friday.

PIC/AB