Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces shot and killed a father
and his son when they raided a house in the Gaza Strip on
Saturday, and a third Palestinian was killed by troops near a
Gaza border crossing, medics and witnesses said.

In the first incident, witnesses said Israeli troops backed
by helicopters entered the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun
and engaged in heavy clashes with Palestinian gunmen there.

Residents said the operation targeted the house of a member
of Hamas. A Palestinian father and his son were killed and at
least four others were wounded, medics said.

The army said two gunmen opened fire on Israeli forces from
within the building, prompting troops to return fire.

A spokesman added that two Hamas militants wanted for
firing rockets into Israel and setting off explosives were also
arrested by Israeli special forces from the house.

The house was later demolished by an army bulldozer,
residents said.

At the same time, Israeli air strikes in a nearby part of
Beit Hanoun wounded three Palestinians, two of them children,
with shrapnel, medics said.

In the second incident, the Israeli army said it had shot a
man south of the Kisufim border crossing in central Gaza
overnight. They said the man looked like he intended to
infiltrate Israel. Palestinian medics recovered the body.

The deaths were the latest in an eight-week Israeli
offensive in Gaza that started after militants abducted an
Israeli soldier in a raid. More than 200 Palestinians, about
half of them civilians, have been killed during the offensive.

As well as seeking to recover the captured soldier, the
operation is aimed at preventing militants from firing
makeshift rockets into Israel from northern Gaza. Rocket fire
has resumed sporadically in recent days.

Israel pulled troops and around 8,000 settlers out of Gaza
in August last year after 38 years of occupation.