Israeli troops kill three Hamas gunmen in Gaza

GAZA, Aug 8 (Reuters) Israeli troops shot and killed three Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip today, ambulance workers and army officials said.

Palestinian medical workers said that Israeli soldiers had killed two Hamas gunmen near a major commercial border crossing with Israel in central Gaza.

An Israeli army spokesman said a force patrolling the border had shot and killed two militants after pursuing them into Palestinian territory.

In a second incident, Israeli troops killed a member of Hamas's Executive Force who was stationed at a roadblock near a border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, residents and medical workers said.

The army said soldiers had fired at two gunmen who approached the border fence, hitting one of them.

Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip on June 14 after weeks of fighting with President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction. Since then, Gaza's main border crossings have been closed to all but humanitarian supplies.

Israeli troops often shoot at Palestinians who approach Gaza's border with Israel, to try to prevent armed infiltrations. Israel also conducts raids in the area to try to stop militants launching rockets and mortars into Israel.

REUTERS GT KN1916