Jerusalem:
The Israeli military said a barrage of rockets fired from the besieged Gaza Strip toward the Kerem Shalom border crossing earlier Sunday had killed three soldiers and wounded a dozen others.
Three of the 12 injured were in serious condition, the army told AFP.
The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas previously claimed that the rocket attack, which prompted Israeli authorities to close the border crossing, was used to deliver aid to Gaza.
The military said 14 rockets were fired at the border crossing from an area adjacent to the Rafah crossing.
In response, the air force carried out a rapid response and destroyed the launchers from which the projectiles were fired, military spokesman Peter Lerner told journalists in an online briefing.
“From our perspective, it is a very serious event, it is unacceptable, and the IDF (army) is investigating why the soldiers were killed when the siren sounded,” he said.
The military was “unaware of any interception that occurred” during the incoming fire, he said.
“The Air Force will investigate exactly what happened,” Lerner added.
The soldiers were hit while guarding heavy machinery, tanks and bulldozers stationed in the area.
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