Israel kills 5 Palestinians in Gaza raids

Gaza, Sept 21: Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including three teenagers, in raids across the Gaza Strip today, Palestinian medics said.

An Israeli shell killed three Palestinians near a rocket launcher in northern Gaza shortly after two make-shift rockets were fired into Israel, damaging a water pipe and a building.

Palestinian residents and witnesses said the three were teenage shepherds.

An Israeli military spokesman said the three had been tampering with a rocket launcher when they were fired upon.

Earlier, a woman, 35, died after soldiers stormed a house belonging to a member of the Hamas militant group near the southern town of Rafah. The Israeli army had no comment.

Israeli troops also killed a man, 24, in a separate incident in Rafah. An Israeli military source said that troops had returned fire after gunmen shot at them from a house.

Rafah is where Israel believes a soldier abducted by Gazan gunmen in a June 25 cross-border raid, Corporal Gilad Shalit, might be held.

The raids followed an increase in rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel, including two fired at the town of Sderot early on Thursday, which caused no casualties.

The troops swept into Rafah, a town along the Egyptian border, under darkness in lightly armoured jeeps, and an Israeli transport helicopter landed at the site after clashes erupted, possibly to evacuate casualties, witnesses said.

Israeli forces have mounted several major operations in Gaza since Shalit's capture, killing more than 215 Palestinians, including civilians.

Israel quit Gaza last year after 38 years of occupation in what it called a bid to defuse violence.

REUTERS