Isrealis kill two in Gaza gun battle

Israeli soldiers today killed three Palestinians, including two armed Hamas fighters, and troops also destroyed 16 shacks, leaving more than 200 people homeless in confrontations in the Gaza Strip.

The two Hamas gunmen were trying to sneak into Israel from northern Gaza, Israeli military officials and Palestinian witnesses said.

Ali Ismail, a local farmer, said a gun battle raged for hours. Military officials said the two men carried grenades, ammunition and bombs.

Near the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in Gaza, a Palestinian was killed in a firefight overnight.

His family said he was hit when he went out during the night to check the irrigation system on the family farm.

At the southern end of Gaza, in the town of Rafah, soldiers demolished 16 shacks, leaving more than 200 people homeless, said the mayor, Saed Zoarab.

The army said the buildings were abandoned structures used by Palestinian gunmen as cover when firing on Israeli soldiers and detonating explosives.

Palestinians are not allowed to enter the area, which is very close to the Jewish settlement of Morag, the army added.

In Nablus, hundreds of Palestinian school students threw stones at Israeli soldiers enforcing a curfew in the West Bank town. Troops fired, wounding seven protesters, including a 15-year-old who was in serious condition, doctors said.

Israel announced it would ease travel restrictions and allow some bus travel between towns in the West Bank. During more than 26 months of fighting, Israel has largely confined Palestinians to their communities to prevent attacks on Israelis, paralysing daily life and crushing the Palestinian economy.