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Hamas gunmen in Gaza (Archive photo)
Photo: AFP

IDF kills 5 gunmen in Gaza, Palestinian sources say

Heavy clashes erupt between Israeli soldiers, Hamas gunmen near Rafah in the southern Strip. Palestinians say 30 men arrested in raid

Israeli troops killed three Hamas gunmen on Friday in clashes with militants in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers said.

 

Heavy clashes erupted before dawn east of the southern city of Rafah when Israeli troops entered an area known as Sufa in the Hamas-controlled territory.

 

Separately, the Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its fighters were killed by Israeli soldiers in the central Gaza Strip.

 

An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers fired at a group of gunmen who had tried to plant a bomb near Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip.

 

She said troops had been operating in the area since Thursday evening and clashed with militants. Earlier it was reported that an IDF soldier had been moderately wounded by an anti-tank missile.

 

Medical workers said soldiers arrested about 30 Palestinians during the raid.

 

The latest violence came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a truck laden with four tons of explosives near an Israeli border crossing with the Gaza Strip, killing only himself.

 

Israel frequently raids the costal territory in what it describes as an effort to curb cross-border rocket attacks.

 

Egypt is trying to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers but progress has been stalled by disagreement over the scope of the deal.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.23.08, 12:06
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