Palestinian killed, five wounded in "Israeli" operation in Gaza

Source: Syria times, 05-05-2008
GAZA CITY - A Palestinian was killed and five others wounded after 'Israeli' forces launched an operation overnight in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said on Sunday.
Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, and officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis identified the man as Hossam al-Najar, 40, saying he was killed and his wife wounded when a missile struck their home. ‏
Three fighters from the armed wing of the Hamas movement were wounded in a separate air strike and a fourth man suffered a gunshot wound as he stood outside his home, Hassanein said. ‏
The fighting erupted after 'Israeli' tanks backed by helicopters pushed about one kilometre (some half a mile) into the Hamas-controlled territory east of the southern town of Khan Yunis, witnesses said. ‏
An 'Israeli' military spokeswoman said the army was carrying out an operation against militants in the area and had launched an "aerial attack againt a gunman approaching the forces." ‏
The troops began to withdraw late on Sunday morning, witnesses said. ‏
'Israel' launches near-daily raids on the territory, which has been ruled by the Islamic Hamas movement since June, in order to halt persistent rocket and mortar attacks on 'Israeli' targets near the border. ‏
Since 'Israel' and the Palestinians relaunched formal peace negotiations at a US-hosted conference in November, at least 450 people have been killed, most of them Gaza militants, according to an AFP count.