Nine Palestinians were killed, among them 6 resistance fighters, in a series of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip

Nine Palestinians were killed, among them 6 resistance fighters, in a series of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip.

The armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas announced that six of its fighters died in a strike near Rafah in the south.

Three others died in separate Israeli air strikes which came as tensions in the region are high following the violent murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir.

Emergency services in Gaza confirmed only two deaths from the air strike in Rafah but four others are believed to be buried under the collapsed site. A seventh victim was reported killed in another attack.

Earlier, two other Palestinian militants were killed in a separate air attack near a refugee camp in central Gaza.

Hamas's military wing, the Izziddine al-Qassam Brigades, had vowed that the Zionist entity would pay "a tremendous price".