Israeli army forces killed four Palestinian civilians - including an 11-year-old boy - and two militants in a cross-border raid into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip today, medical officials said.
The officials said the boy was shot in the abdomen and chest. Four suspected militants and six civilians, including two teenagers were also wounded in the clash, the officials said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces operating in the central Gaza Strip shot several militants who fired at the troops. She had no details on their identity.
Hours earlier, Israeli air strikes killed two Palestinian gunmen belonging to Islamist Hamas near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. Seven other gunmen were wounded in the attacks, the medical officials said.
The army confirmed the overnight air strike. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday vowed Israel would strike Hamas after Gaza militants killed two Israeli civilians at a border oil terminal with Israel.
Israel, which withdrew forces and settlers in 2005, frequently mounts raids into the Gaza Strip in what it says is an attempt to stop militants from firing rockets at southern Israeli towns. Several days of fighting six weeks ago left more than 120 Palestinians and three Israelis dead.
Hamas seized Gaza after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah in June.