Six Palestinian gunmen killed in Gaza raid

Gaza, Oct 14: Israeli forces killed six Palestinian gunmen in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip today, Palestinian security sources said.

A column of Israeli tanks backed by attack helicopters moved deep into an area east of the town of Jabalya today. Militants responded with anti-tank fire.

Security sources said six militants were killed, including four from Hamas when an Israeli rocket hit a house. At least 11 other Palestinians were injured, mostly militants.

Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza has worsened in recent days.

Almost 240 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed since Israel launched a June offensive in Gaza to try to recover a captured soldier and stop cross-border rocket fire.

Earlier, an Israeli air strike destroyed a house in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, witnesses and medics said.

Israeli forces yesterday killed four Palestinians, three of them Hamas militants, residents said.

Hamas controls the Palestinian government and resumed rocket attacks on Israel earlier this week.

Reuters