Three dead in Israeli gunbattle

Palestinian security and hospital officials have confirmed three Palestinians were killed and 13 injured in a gunbattle with Israeli troops earlier today.

Israeli troops moved into a Gaza City neighbourhood and fired at Palestinian security training facilities, Israeli army and Palestinian security sources say.

Israeli troops also stormed several houses and arrested people near the area where Palestinian militants had planted a 110lb bomb that destroyed a Merkava-3 tank and killed three soldiers earlier in the week.

According to reports, Palestinians also fired a high-powered Qassam-2-type rocket into Israel, near the Gaza Strip. The rocket landed in an open field in Kfar Azza.