GAZA CITY
Two Palestinian children were killed in Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip on Monday, taking the overall death toll in the beleaguered coastal enclave to 1,867, a Health Ministry spokesman said.
"The two children, aged 5 and 12, were killed in Israeli shelling of the southern city of Rafah," Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency.
The latest fatalities bring to 1,867 the number of Palestinians killed in relentless Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since July 7.
More than 9470 Palestinians have also been injured during the same period.
Al-Qodra said more than 50 Palestinian fatalities were registered on Monday, including 32 whose bodies were retrieved from under the rubble of bombed homes.
Israel has been pounding the blockaded Gaza Strip – home to 1.8 million people – since July 7 with the ostensible aim of halting rocket fire.
The Israeli army has confirmed that 64 troops had been killed and 400 others injured in the ongoing Gaza military operation.
Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities, killing three civilians.
The offensive – codenamed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip within the last six years.
By Nour al-Masri
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![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/gaza/israel-kills-2-gaza-children-death-toll-rises-to-1-867/136722&p[images][0]=https://cdnuploads.aa.com.tr/uploads/Contents/2014/07/26/thumbs_b_c_c2b192ad9692aaae0406a154364b0184.jpg&p[title]=Israel kills 2 Gaza children, death toll rises to 1,867&p[summary]="The two children, aged 5 and 12, were killed in Israeli shelling of the southern city of Rafah," Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency.){kind=link}