Fierce Gaza fighting kills 13 Palestinians and three Israelis

THIRTEEN Palestinians and three Israelis were killed yesterday in fierce gunbattles in the northern Gaza Strip after a wave of Israeli air strikes, the worst fighting in the impoverished area in months.

The Israeli raids followed a Palestinian rocket attack on Wednesday that claimed the lives of two young children in the Israeli town of Sderot as families filled the streets to celebrate the start of Sukkot, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.

It was the deadliest violence in the Gaza Strip since May when dozens were killed on both sides as Israel sought to destroy tunnels used by Palestinian militants to smuggle weapons from Egypt.