Israel mounts deadly attacks in Gaza

GAZA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Israeli soldiers shelled a house in central Gaza Thursday, killing four people and injuring 16 others, Israeli media reported.

Witnesses told Ynetnews.com several of the people injured were in critical condition. The news agency said it was unclear if the house was deliberately targeted or hit randomly in running battles with Palestinian militants. Israeli forces have staged such attacks in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza.

Witnesses said at least 30 people were in the house before the strike.

Elsewhere, police and military bomb experts were examining fragments of a rocket fired from northern Gaza into the town of Ashkelon, IsraelNN.com reported. It landed near a hotel and caused no injuries but there was concern it could have been a Russian-made Katyushin rocket, as the impact was well beyond the range of rockets known locally as Kassam rockets usually used by Palestinian militants, the report said.

Israeli forces also reported killing a Hamas militant and wounding seven others in a shootout in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, the reports said.