Israeli Soldier Killed in Gaza

12/09/2006| IslamWeb

An Israeli soldier has been killed after coming under fire in Kissufim on the border with the Gaza Strip, Aljazeera has reported.

The death took place during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters on Tuesday near the Kissufim crossing with Israel, east of Khan Yunus, in the Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said the fighters had exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers in an area of central Gaza after troops backed by tanks had moved across the border just after dawn.

The soldier died after sustaining serious injuries, Aljazeera said.

Earlier, an Israeli air strike destroyed the two-storey central Gaza home of a senior security official in the interior ministry, witnesses said. No one was wounded.

An Israeli army spokesman said the house was hit because it was being used to store weapons.

Hamas member

In addition to serving in the interior ministry, the official is a member of Hamas, Palestinian officials said.

Tuesday's clash came one day after Palestinian factions agreed to form a unity government to try to end Western sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led administration for refusing to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

Israel has responded sceptically to the unity government while the Hamas Islamist movement has said it would never recognise Israel.

Israel has frequently hit Palestinian fighters' homes as part of a broader Gaza offensive launched after an Israeli soldier was seized and two others killed in a cross-border raid on June 25.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 210 Palestinians, about half of them civilians.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians gather around a burning car after it was hit by an Israeli missile in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)