Three people were killed and several injured in two explosions in the Gaza area on late Tuesday night, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry report. The two people killed in the first explosion were policemen, according to Hamas reports.

The sounds of two loud explosions were heard from Gaza about 11 p.m., and subsequent Palestinian reports blamed the explosions on Israeli airstrikes. The IDF responded that “they are not aware of an attack in Gaza.”

Later Palestinian reports retracted its claims of Israeli responsibility. The explosions were apparently the result of “work accidents” with one report saying that a policeman’s explosive device had detonated

Terror organizations in the Gaza area insisted on maintaining blame on Israel for the incidents, stating: “The occupation bears responsibility for bombing police stations in Gaza. The attempts to shuffle the cards will fail and Gaza will maintain its resistance. Its security services will thwart all evil plots against it.”

Earlier on Tuesday, four mortar shells were launched from the Gaza strip into southern Israel. There were no injuries. The Israel Air Force bombed a Hamas position in the Gaza Strip in response.

The heightened tensions in Israel’s south comes on the heels of the high state of alert in northern Israel in light of recent threats from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to avenge Israel for its airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria earlier this week.

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(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)