GAZA - Israeli special forces backed by helicopters clashed with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, killing at least three in IsraelÂ’s first incursion into the zone since handing it over to the Palestinian Authority, reports from both sides said.Israeli forces entered Palestinian territory in the north of the strip and exchanged fire with Islamic Jihad militants preparing to fire Qassam rockets across the border into Israel, said Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for the group.
Meanwhile, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at gunmen in the area and witnesses said three Palestinians were killed, the Israeli news website Ynetnews.com reported. SaÂ’eed Jouda, chief of emergency at Kamal Odwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, said a total of four people were killed. His hospital received the body of one Palestinian and three others were taken to another hospital, he said. Thirteen Palestinians were wounded, among them a paramedic, a reporter for Gaza radio station and a cameraman, Jouda said.
Witnesses said area residents who rushed to rescue the injured came under fire from Israeli soldiers, who were backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles.
Additional: Jihad vows “terrible response" to Gaza ambush
GAZA CITY - The militant Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad promised a “terrible and violent” response to an Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip in which three of its followers were killed on Tuesday. “This new crime of the occupation... will not pass without a terrible and violent response in the heart of the Zionist entity,” the group said in a statement.
Jihad said its militants had been killed in an ambush carried out by members of an elite Israeli army unit who were dressed in Palestinian clothing. The militants were preparig to fire rockets from northern Gaza towards the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel. “A group of Israeli agents disguised as Palestinians ambushed a group from the Al-Quds Brigades (Jihad’s armed wing),” the statement said. “The group, which was made up of four fighters, was on its way to fire rockets on occupied Majdal (Ashkelon) when they were surprised by a special force which opened fire.”
Three of the Jihad followers were killed in the attack while a fourth was wounded but managed to escape, the statement said. Medics said a total of four people were killed in the operation but the identity of the remaining victim was not immediately known.
Other members of the Al-Quds Brigades were called to the scene and then became embroiled in a gunbattle with Israeli troops for more than an hour, the statement added. The army confirmed that an infantry unit had exchanged fire with Jihad militants in what was their first ground operation since soldiers pulled out of the territory in September last year. The Israeli air force also carried out strikes during the operation.