Eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the latest army operation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said.

The son of Mahmud al-Zahhar, a key Hamas leader, was among those killed on Tuesday.

The eight men were hit by tank fire in the neighborhood of Al-Zeitun in eastern Gaza City, they said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops opened fire on a group of armed Palestinians who were allegedly approaching them.

Israel said they were engaging in an operation "against terror threats".

Samir Abu Shammalah, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza, said about 17 others have been wounded, including five seriously.

The Israeli operation is continuing, he said.

Palestinian fighters resisted the Israeli troops, resulting in a gun battle.

The deaths follow Monday's missile attack by Israel near the Gaza home of Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader, which killed three Palestinians.

Tuesday's deaths bring to 6,056 the number of people killed since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000, the vast majority of them Palestinians, according to a news agency tally.

PHOTO CAPTION 

People carry a Palestinian on a stretcher after he was injured by Israeli troops during a raid in Gaza January 15, 2008. [Reuters]