Israeli army troops arrested scores of Palestinians during an incursion into
southern Gaza city of Kahn Younis yesterday afternoon, hours after the killing
of four people in the offensive.
The Israeli operation started at midnight are still going on as the Israeli
helicopters fired at a group of Islamic Jihad (Holy War) militants in al-Qarara
neighborhood of eastern Khan Younis this afternoon, wounding three of them,
local residents said.
They added that Israeli army took away tens of residents for interrogation
amid the operation.
Witnesses said the detainees were moved by trucks towards the Israeli
territories.
So far, the operation has killed four Palestinians, including two Hamas
militants.
The first casualty was recorded three hours after midnight when helicopter
gunships killed a Hamas militant.
The Israeli sniper gunfire led to the other three deaths, including another
Hamas member and his mother.
Meanwhile, a number of injuries were left bleeding as the heavy Israeli fire
prevented the ambulances from reaching them, said the witnesses.
Israeli operation in Gaza encountered the resistance from the Palestinian
militant groups, including Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and a
Fatah military wing.
Hamas, which seized Gaza after defeating rival Fatah in June, said in a
statement that its members fired a rocket propelled grenade on an Israeli tank
"and hit it directly."
The PRC said in a separate statement that its sniper targeted an Israeli
soldier "and the soldier was seen falling from the tank on his face."
In a third statement, Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said two of its
members were injured during their armed clashes with an Israeli special
force.