JERUSALEM  - An Israeli civilian was killed by rocket fire from Gaza on Tuesday, a defence ministry spokesman said, shortly after the army said a soldier died in a Palestinian rocket attack.

 

"Yes, I can confirm it," a defense ministry spokesman told AFP, saying the strike had killed Alayaan Salem al-Nabari, a Bedouin from the southern Negev desert.

 

The spokesman said Nabari was "employed by a firm that worked for the defense ministry for many years."

 

Earlier in the day, the military confirmed a soldier was killed by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, in Eshkol regional council, flanking the southern part of the Israel-Gaza border.

 

The deaths raised to five the number of Israelis killed in Gaza rocket fire since November 14. Last Thursday, a rocket strike on the Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi hit a house, killing two men and a woman. — Agence France Presse