Two mosque human shields killed in Gaza

MILITANTS holed up inside a Gaza mosque besieged by Israeli troops escaped yesterday after hundreds of women who streamed there to serve as human shields provided cover for their flight, the army said.

Israeli troops fired toward the crowd of women, killing two and wounding at least 10, hospital officials said.

Soldiers seized Beit Hanoun on Wednesday in their fiercest bid in months to halt Palestinian rocket fire on nearby Israeli communities.