Gaza/Jabaliyah: Israeli troops killed six Palestinian gunmen yesterday in some of the heaviest fighting for weeks in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said.
Two Israeli soldiers were wounded, the army said, as three raids were mounted into the territory, backed by air strikes. Seven Palestinian fighters and three civilians were wounded, hospital staff said. Fighters from Hamas were joined by other fighters in battles that began at night.
The Israeli army, which described the raids as "routine", said its forces pulled back in early afternoon and witnesses said fighting appeared to have ended.
On Thursday, Israel said it planned to start cutting power supplies to Gaza in response to almost daily rocket fire on Israeli towns.
Islamic Jihad rally
Hamas said three of its men were killed. Islamic Jihad fighters said three of their number also died in the clashes. Hamas said its fighters had overrun a small Israeli position and shot two soldiers.
The group showed journalists some Israeli military equipment, some of it bloodstained, evidence Hamas leaders said of their fighters' successes.
Thousands of supporters of Islamic Jihad rallied in the Gaza Strip yesterday to mark the 12th anniversary of Israel killing its former leader.
Carrying the faction's trademark black flags, the protesters at Jabaliyah in the northern Gaza Strip denounced Israel and the United States and called for continued resistance against occupation.
Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, Jihad's leader who lives in exile, addressed the rally by telephone in comments relayed by loudspeaker, telling Palestinians to boycott a planned Middle East meeting in the United States.
