New Gaza clashes as Israel keeps borders sealed

30/11/2008| IslamWeb

Pre-dawn clashes erupted in Gaza on Sunday, leaving three fighters wounded according to the Palestinians, as Israel said it was keeping all border crossings with impoverished territory sealed.

"Following mortar and rocket fire, the border crossings we had expected to open will remain closed," defense ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said.

He said the restriction covers all goods and people except the sick, who would be allowed to travel to and from the Hamas-run territory.

A small Palestinian militant group, the Popular Resistance Comittees, said three of its fighters were wounded in the early hours after an Israeli incursion into central Gaza.

The group said the incursion east of the Maghazi refugee camp prompted an exchange of fire and Israeli shelling of its fighters.

Medical sources confirmed that they were treating three wounded Palestinians. There was no immediate word from the Israeli military on the incident.

An Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and the Hamas movement which rules the Gaza Strip went into force on June 19, but since November 4 there has been a spate of cross-border attacks.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli Arabs march during a demonstration against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip in the northern town of Nazareth.

AFP