Four killed in Gaza Strip during Israeli raid

GAZA, Aug 14 (Reuters) Israeli forces killed four Palestinians today when they clashed with militants during a raid on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the Islamist group and hospital officials said.

A Hamas militant and a 40-year-old bystander were killed during the raid on the southern villages of Qarara and Abassan, hospital officials said.

Hamas said another of its gunmen and his mother were shot and killed as they emerged from their home in the area. At least 12 Palestinians were wounded in the fighting, in which the Israeli troops were backed by military aircraft.

An Israeli army spokesman said the operation was carried out to try to find a suspected militant tunnel network at the Gazan frontier and to prevent cross-border rocket fire.

''During the operation, our forces encountered gunmen and fired on them, hitting at least four,'' the spokesman said.

The army said it rounded up some 80 Palestinians for interrogation. Soldiers discovered a bomb and an explosive belt during the raid, the army said.

During the clash in the mostly residential area, Hamas said its militants fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at the Israeli force.

Witnesses said tanks responded with machinegun fire and Israeli snipers shot at the militants from rooftops. Israeli aircraft fired two missiles that wounded 7 gunmen, they said.

Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, vowed in a statement to continue the fight against Israel ''until either victory or martyrdom''.

Israel has tried to isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which the group seized by force in June in fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction.

REUTERS SBC BST1904