- Title: GAZA: Three militants killed as Israel strikes the Gaza Strip.
- Date: 6th September 2012
- Summary: WOMEN CRYING PEOPLE OUTSIDE MORGUE
- Embargoed: 21st September 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Gaza
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABL1FDLZRMN6Q3LZ1U9URNWK42
- Story Text: An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip kills three on Thursday morning.
israeli forces killed three Palestinian militants in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday (September 6), residents said. The Israeli military said they were trying to plant explosives near the border fence when they were attacked.
The incident followed the killing over night of three militants in an air strike which the military said foiled an attempt to fire rockets from the central Gaza Strip into Israel.
Villagers who knew the men killed in Thursday's attack said they belonged to a small Islamist militant group known as Homat al-Aqsa. Their bodies were taken to a local hospital.
The Israeli military issued a written statement saying the strike occurred to stop the men planting explosives near the border with Israel.
"Soldiers targeted a terrorist squad that was planting an explosive device near the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip," the statement said.
Hamas, an Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, confirmed their deaths and said one of the men, lying wounded, had used his cellular telephone to summon an ambulance but Israeli fire prevented the vehicle from approaching and he died.
An Israeli military spokesman said he had no immediate comment on the allegation but would seek more information from commanders.
Hamas is hostile to Israel but has largely refrained in recent years from launching cross-border rocket attacks. Israel has said that as Gaza's ruler, Hamas bears overall responsibility for any strikes from the territory carried out by other groups. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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