Sri Lanka, Feb. 5 -- At least 20 Palestinians, including several children and a paramedic, have been killed and almost 40 others wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza, hospitals say.

The Israeli military said tanks and aircraft carried out "precise strikes" against what it called "terrorists" who opened fire on troops in the north of the strip, seriously wounding an officer.

It added that the attack happened close to the Yellow Line, beyond which Israeli forces are stationed in Gaza, and that it constituted a "blatant violation" of the three-month-old ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Hamas accused Israel of using the shooting as "a flimsy pretext to justify the continuation of killing and aggression against our people".

Al-Shifa hospital in Ga...