An Israeli air strike killed four members of the Hamas-led security force during clashes in the Gaza Strip today, witnesses said.
"IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip identified three armed gunmen advancing toward their position. The forces opened fire, killing two of the gunmen, the third gunman was targeted from the air," an Israeli army spokeswoman said.
The new reported deaths in Gaza City's Shijaia district, an Islamist militant stronghold that troops entered on Saturday, have raised the death toll there to eight following four others, including two militants, who died there yesterday.
Three were killed in the fighting and a fourth person died of wounds later.
The army said its incursion into the neighbourhood was aimed at seeking out tunnels and explosives that could be used in attacks.
More than 180 Palestinians, about half of them militants, have been killed since Israel launched an offensive in June aimed at recovering a captured soldier and ending cross-border rocket fire.