(dpa) - Israeli forces killed two Hamas militants and injured a third man in clashes in central Gaza Strip following a pre- dawn Israeli army incursion, witnesses and Hamas sources said Tuesday.
The armed wing of the Islamic movement said the dead were Yehia al-Barak, a commander, and Abdullah al-Louh, an activist with Ezz el- Deen al-Qassam Brigades, a statement said.
Medical sources said a third fighter was wounded in the exchange of fire between Hamas militants and Israeli special forces in Wadi al-Salaqa, a small village east of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.
Residents said that around four tanks had rolled into Wadi al- Salaqa after snipers took up positions on some houses. Hamas fighters monitoring the Gaza-Israeli fence shot at the tanks.
Israeli troops withdrew after nearly two hours, eventually enabling Palestinian ambulance crews to retrieve the dead and the injured fighter and move them to al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, medical sources and witnesses said.