Death toll from weekend Israel-Gaza fighting rises to 48

The Palestinian death toll from last weekend’s fighting between Israel and Gaza militants rose to 48 Thursday after an 11-year-old girl and a man died from wounds they suffered during the worst cross-border violence in over a year.

Meanwhile, two wounded Gaza children, ages 8 and 14, were fighting for their lives in a Jerusalem hospital. In all, more than 300 Palestinians were wounded over the weekend when Israel struck Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza.

The death of 11-year-old Layan al-Shaer at Mukassed Hospital in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem brought to 17 the number of children killed in the fighting. Hani al-Shaer, a relative, said she was wounded in a drone attack during a surprise opening salvo launched by Israel, hours before any rockets were fired.

The Al-Quds channel in Gaza confirmed the martyrdom of Taysir al-Jabari, commander of the northern region in Saraya al-Quds.

Two other Palestinian children, 14-year-old Nayef al-Awdat and 8-year-old Mohammed Abu Ktaifa were being treated in the intensive care unit at Mukassed.

Nayef, who is blind, was wounded in an Israeli airstrike, while Mohammed was hurt in an explosion that went off near a wedding party and killed an elderly woman, with the circumstances still unclear.

Israel has said as many as 16 people might have been killed by rockets misfired by Palestinian militants. Israeli strikes appear to have killed more than 30 Palestinians, including civilians and several militants, among them two senior Islamic Jihad commanders. It wasn’t immediately clear how the man whose death was announced Thursday was wounded.

A cease-fire took hold Sunday night, bringing an end to the fighting that started Friday.