Three Israeli soldiers killed in West Bank
In separate incident, Israeli troops kill militant in Rafah
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Gunmen killed three Israeli soldiers and wounded a fourth in an ambush of an army patrol in the West Bank on Sunday evening, Israeli army sources said.
The attack occurred about 7 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT) in the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, about three miles (five kilometers) northeast of Ramallah, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said. Soldiers later conducted a search for the attackers.
Earlier, Palestinians in northern Gaza fired eight Qassam rockets toward Sderot in southern Israel, the IDF said. Three of the rockets landed in the town, but no casualties were reported.
In the town of Rafah in southern Gaza, Palestinian security sources said Israeli troops shot and killed a member of a local militant group. The man was identified as Shadi Abu Hilweh, 20.
Violence has been ongoing in the Rafah area since Israeli troops entered the town on the Egyptian border October 9 in an operation aimed at arresting Palestinian terrorism suspects and uncovering tunnels Israel says are used to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt.
Palestinian medical officials said two Palestinian gunmen and a woman were killed and 10 people injured in Rafah on Saturday.
Israeli military sources said a group of armed Palestinians were trying to plant a bomb outside a building occupied by Israeli troops. The soldiers opened fire, hitting at least one of the Palestinians, the IDF said.
The IDF said it would remain in the Rafah area as long as necessary to shut down the tunnels. The search for tunnels continued Sunday.
On Wednesday, three American members of a security detail were killed and another injured in a roadside bombing of a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza.
U.S. officials said the attack was targeted to hit Americans. The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack, and Palestinian security sources rounded up several suspects. (Full story)
