Israeli troops kill two in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed a Hamas militant today who approached the fence separating Israel and Gaza, Hamas said.

The army said it identified two armed men apparently planting an explosive device and opened fire on them.

Palestinian medical officials said they evacuated a 22-year-old man with shrapnel wounds all across his body.

Hamas identified the man as Fadi Assaf, one of its men.

Meanwhile, in the southern Gaza Strip the army said it shot dead a man crawling toward the border.

Family members of 55-year-old Mustafa al-Sufi said he was shot from an army watch tower.

Israel routinely carries out pre-dawn attacks rocket launching pads and against militants who near its border.