Four Palestinians Martyred By "Israeli" Troops in Gaza

Source: Al-Manar TV, 12-11-2008
"Israeli" occupation troops killed four Palestinian resistance fighters in a gunbattle on the Gaza border on Wednesday that rattled a nearly five-month lull, the "Israeli" occupation army and Palestinian medics said.
"Four fighters were killed and were transferred to Nasser Hospital" in the south of the Gaza Strip, a medic said.
Witnesses said the fighters were from the Islamic resistance Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip.
An "Israeli" occupation army spokeswoman said: "Troops identified hitting the four Palestinians and later found firearms and grenades on their bodies."
The gunbattle broke out after "Israeli" armored vehicles crossed into the Hamas-controlled territory near the city of Khan Yunis, Palestinian witnesses and security officials said.
The occupation army said mortar rounds were fired into the occupied territories and that it responded with two air strikes just inside Gaza.
Earlier in the day, "Israeli" occupation troops exchanged fire with Palestinian resistance fighters along the Gaza border. Palestinian security officials said several people were wounded in the gunbattle which broke out after "Israeli" armored vehicles crossed into the Hamas-controlled territory.
But the "Israeli" occupation army claimed its forces did not cross into the Palestinian territory. "A force identified and opened fire at armed men approaching the border security barrier in an area near Khan Yunis," an "Israeli" army spokeswoman said, adding that exchanges of fire were still underway.
On Tuesday "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned "Israeli" settlers in southern occupied territories to brace for a possible escalation of the attacks.
"The situation between us and Hamas is one of an inevitable clash. It's only a question of 'when,' not 'if.' And if we need to fight Hamas - then that is what we'll do. In any event we must be alert and prepared," Olmert said during a visit to the Gaza Division's headquarters.
He was accompanied by "Israeli" War Minister Ehud Barak, "Israeli" army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Southern Command chief, Yoav Galant and several additional "Israeli" top military commanders.
"Israeli" officers briefed Olmert on the army's current undertakings in the region and the state of the resistance armed groups in Gaza at present time - particularly Hamas. The briefing also touched on the security situation on Occupied Palestine's border with Egypt.
Barak added on Olmert's comments that while "Israel" "has no intentions of disrupting the calm, we have an interest in maintaining it, but in a situation where we must thwart an attack against "Israeli" troops or settlers, we will act."
The "Israeli" war minister warned that the capture of an "Israeli" soldier is not merely an attack on the soldier's person but a "strategic attack, one that becomes a national problem within hours and an international problem within a day."
He stressed that the occupation army has been ordered to prepare for any scenario. "We look at the relative calm here but know that underneath the surface something different is happening," he claimed.
Hinting at the destruction of the tunnel near the Gaza border last week, which sparked the latest round of violence, the "Israeli" war minister said, "We see the relative quiet and know that under the surface other things are going on."