A FRESH wave of fighting erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, leaving an Israeli soldier and seven Palestinians dead, just as Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers had appeared to be making progress toward ratcheting down months of border violence.

It was not immediately clear what set off the sudden, rare late-night burst of violence.

In a statement early yesterday, the Israeli military said an officer was killed and another one was moderately injured during “an operational activity” in southeast Gaza Strip in which an exchange of gunfire was involved. The operation had ended and the families of the soldiers were notified, it added.

Earlier, Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said Israeli undercover forces in a civilian vehicle infiltrated three kilometers into Gaza and fatally shot Nour el-Deen Baraka, its local commander in Khan Younis town. It said militants discovered the car and chased it down, prompting Israeli airstrikes that killed “a number of people.” The clashes cooled down early yesterday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said six people, including at least five militants, were killed and seven others wounded. In the early hours, a seventh body was found.

In Israel, the military said it had intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza as air raid sirens continued to sound.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an official visit to France, announced he was rushing back to Israel to deal with the crisis.  (SD-Agencies)