Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in Gaza

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed five Palestinians,
including two civilians, in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday
as they pushed deeper into a militant stronghold, Palestinian
witnesses said.

Troops carried out house-to-house searches in the Rafah
area, close to where militants tunneled into Israel on June 25
and seized a soldier, prompting Israel’s offensive into the
territory it abandoned last year.

At least 159 Palestinians have been killed in efforts to
recover the soldier and end cross-border rocket fire. More than
half the dead are civilians.

Air strikes killed three militants and a 10 year-old boy,
Palestinians said. Another civilian was killed by gunfire. At
least 14 Palestinians were wounded. The army was checking the
reports.

Militants with guns and anti-tank rockets confronted at
least 50 armored vehicles as they pushed into Rafah.

At least one of the dead gunmen was from the armed wing of
the governing Hamas Islamist group. Another was from Islamic
Jihad, which is also dedicated to destroying the Jewish state.

Israel’s offensive has increased pressure on Hamas, which
had been under a Western aid embargo to try to force it to
recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence and accept
peace deals.

Israel has rejected demands by the armed wing of Hamas and
the other groups that captured Corporal Gilad Shalit to
exchange him for Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli forces left Gaza almost a year ago after 38 years
of occupation.