Seven people, including three children, have been killed by Israeli shells which hit a beach in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say. At least 30 people were wounded in the shelling, they say. The Israeli military says it has halted all shelling of Gaza and has launched an inquiry into whether ground-based artillery could have been involved. In a statement, the military wing of Hamas threatened to resume attacks on Israel in the wake of "massacres". The group has been observing a self-imposed ceasefire for more than a year. Although there have been threats of a response to other attacks in recent months, the BBC's Simon Wilson in Jerusalem says the move is significant because it appears on the official website of the armed wing of the group. There was no immediate word from the political wing of Hamas, which dominates the government in the Palestinian Authority. Four other people were also killed in separate Israeli air strike in northern Gaza on Friday, Palestinians said.
Palestinian officials say the seven people killed on the Gaza Strip beach included two women as well as the three children. The first television pictures revealed a terrible scene, the BBC's Alan Johnston says. At least four figures lay unconscious on the ground, possibly dead, our correspondent says. A little further away, a man was lying on a sand dune, perhaps fatally injured, while a child stood looking on in utter horror, our correspondent says. He says around the casualties were tables and chairs, and it looks very much as if this was a family enjoying their Friday afternoon off on the beach when disaster struck.
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