Journalist among 5 killed in Gaza missile dismantling

Gaza City - A foreign journalist was among at least five people killed in northern Gaza on Wednesday as Palestinian experts were dismantling an Israeli missile, medics and officials said.

Emergency services spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said five people had been killed and several more seriously wounded.

"A number of explosives experts were killed while dismantling an [Israeli] missile in Beit Lahiya," interior ministry spokesperson Iyad al-Buzam told AFP.

He said a foreign journalist was also among the dead.

The foreign journalist was killed while covering the work to dismantle the unexploded missile, although there was no official word on the victim's identity.

At least one other local journalist was badly wounded, an AFP correspondent said.

The blast occurred as Israel and Hamas militants were observing a 72-hour truce which expires at midnight local time as negotiators in Cairo tried to trash out a more permanent ceasefire arrangement.