Israeli air strike kills Gaza militant-doctors

GAZA, Nov 6 (Reuters) An Israeli air strike killed a militant from the Islamic Hamas group in northern Gaza, Palestinian doctors said, as Israel pressed ahead with a massive offensive in the territory.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said yesterday that Israel carried out an air strike on an open area in northern Gaza. Israeli military aircraft often fire missiles into Gaza to ward off gunmen or rocket-launchers.

Palestinian witnesses said a missile struck a date tree, close to a group of Hamas militants. The attack killed one of them and wounded several others, doctors said.

Palestinian witnesses and security sources had earlier said that another Hamas militant died in the attack, but doctors said the man was wounded and remained in critical condition.

It was Israel's latest strike against militants since it began an offensive in Gaza in June after gunmen from the area abducted an Israeli soldier in a raid inside the Jewish state.

Israel has killed more than 320 Palestinians in Gaza, about half of them civilians, since it began its assault.

The strike near the town of Jabalya, a militant stronghold from which gunmen have often fired rockets into Israel, also narrowly missed a vehicle carrying a top leader from the Islamic Jihad militant group, a source within the group said.

Reuters SBA VP0440