Gaza, Oct 2 (IANS): Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, while Israeli forces unexpectedly advanced in the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Palestinian security sources told Xinhua news agency that Israeli warplanes targeted a house on Tuesday west of the Nuseirat camp with a missile. They added that the airstrike was accompanied by intense artillery shelling, which also hit a school housing displaced persons.

Medical sources said the Israeli bombardment killed three Palestinians and injured several others, all of whom were taken to hospital.

In addition, local sources reported that the Israeli troops injured several Palestinians at the Netzarim junction in central Gaza.

The sources said these Palestinians were injured as they attempted to cross a military checkpoint to return to the north from the south of the strip, prompting gunfire from military vehicles and helicopters.

For its part, the Israeli military said its forces identified dozens of suspects threatening troops in central Gaza, prompting them to open fire, which resulted in injuries among the suspects, with no casualties reported on the Israeli forces' side.

In Khan Younis, eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli vehicles unexpectedly advanced amid heavy fire in the Qizan an-Najjar area east of the city.

Witnesses mentioned that hundreds of Palestinian families were trapped east of Khan Younis due to ongoing artillery shelling and gunfire, resulting in injuries. They noted that the area also witnessed a significant movement of residents fleeing the sudden Israeli incursion.