Eight Palestinians killed in Gaza clashes

Israeli troops moved into a neighbourhood at the eastern edge of Gaza City early today, killing eight Palestinians and wounding at least 25 others in exchanges of fire, residents said.

The sounds of the fierce battle reverberated throughout the city as dawn broke.

Among the dead were Mohammed Hilles, 18, the son of Ahmed Hilles, the top leader of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction in Gaza. The family lives in the area.

Four of those killed were armed. They included Hani Abu Skhaila, a senior Hamas activist who had survived an Israeli attempt to kill him in the past, said residents in the Shajaiyeh.

Two civilians were killed, and seven of the wounded were in critical condition, doctors said. The wounded included at least three boys who were hit as they watched the battle from side streets, witnesses and doctors said.

When Abu Skhaila’s death was announced at a Gaza hospital, Hamas militants in camouflage uniforms waiting outside fired guns in the air and yelled “God is great” before jumping in a car to return to the fighting, witnesses said.

The military said troops fired in response to anti-tank missiles shot at tanks in the operation to search for militants responsible for firing rockets at nearby Jewish settlements. Troops hit at least 17 militants who had fired at them or were planting explosives, the army said.

Israeli forces, including more than 10 tanks and several armoured bulldozers, also moved into the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border, residents said. Five Palestinians were injured in exchanges of fire in the area, they said.

The military said soldiers were looking for tunnels used by Palestinians to smuggle in weapons.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Israeli operations “undermine” efforts to work out a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.