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'Three dead' in Israeli Gaza raid 'Seven dead' in Israeli Gaza raid
(about 3 hours later)
At least three Palestinians have been killed and six wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say. Seven Palestinians including a senior militant figure have been killed in clashes with Israel troops in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say.
The Israeli army said its troops hit several gunmen in an exchange of fire near the town of Beit Lahiya. Local people in the northern town of Beit Hanoun say several men were gunned down during a mourning ceremony.
They were targeting militants planning to launch rocket attacks on southern Israel, an Israeli spokesman said. The Israeli army said 10 gunmen had been hit during exchanges of fire in north Gaza in an operation to stop militants firing rockets into Israel.
The clashes came as Palestinians celebrated Eid al-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It denied operating in the town, but said it had been near Beit Lahiya.
A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a militant umbrella group, told the Associated Press news agency that one of the dead was Ata Shindari, who headed rocket-launching operations for the group. The Israeli army also denied Palestinian claims that the clashes had occurred during an undercover raid.
There were also reports of fighting in the town of Beit Hanoun, but security sources say this may have been between feuding local families. The incident came as Palestinians celebrated Eid al-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Missile fire
Local people in Beit Hanoun say the men who were gunned down were paying their respects to a militant who was shot recently by the Israelis.
Among those who died in the burst of fire was a man named Ata Shinbari, a senior commander in a militant organisation called the Popular Resistance Committees, the group and witnesses said.
The group is heavily involved in launching crudely made rockets across Gaza's border into Israeli territory.
The militant groups often say that such missile fire is a response to Israeli army actions in occupied Palestinian territory.
Mr Shinbari has been described as the man in charge of his organisation's activity in northern Gaza.
Palestinian sources say that his death was an assassination carried out by an Israeli undercover unit.
Violence between Israelis and Palestinians in recent weeks has been the worst since June, when the Israelis launched an offensive to try to rescue a captured soldier.Violence between Israelis and Palestinians in recent weeks has been the worst since June, when the Israelis launched an offensive to try to rescue a captured soldier.