Palestinians killed in Gaza violence
Israeli army operation aimed at militants firing rockets
GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Six Palestinians died Saturday in four separate attacks by the Israeli military in Gaza, according to Palestinian security and medical sources. Two others were also killed, but the circumstances of their deaths were unclear.
In a fifth attack late Saturday, four Hamas militants were wounded, two critically, Palestinian security forces said. The Israeli army account said three men were hit by the gunfire from a helicopter.
A Hamas field commander was killed and three Palestine wounded when an Israeli drone fired a rocket into the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza late Saturday morning, the Palestinian sources said. The Israeli army confirmed the killing, saying several Palestinian militants were trying to launch an antitank missile.
Earlier Saturday morning, an Israeli Apache helicopter fired a rocket into a refugee camp in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, killing two Palestinian policemen, Palestinian hospital sources said. The Israeli army said the missile was fired at two armed men.
Two Hamas militants were killed early Saturday in a helicopter strike in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza. The Israeli military said it was an exchange of fire.
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, has been labeled by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. The group's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as well as attacks against the Israeli military.
Palestinian sources said another Hamas militant died in an incident near Beit Hanoun when an Israeli drone fired a missile. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that incident.
And two Palestinians were killed in a house in Beit Lahiya in Gaza, Palestinian security and medical sources said, but it unclear how that happened.
Asked about the report, the Israel Defense Forces said forces operating in northern Gaza said they identified Palestinian gunmen firing an antitank missile, but it hit an adjacent Palestinian house.
The Israeli military has ratcheted up operations in Gaza during the past 10 days in an effort to crack down on Palestinians firing Qassam rockets into Israel. The offensive has killed dozens of Palestinians.
