Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians today in fighting during an incursion into the Gaza Strip, local ambulance workers and hospital officials said.
Gunmen confronted the Israeli force in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and set off explosives, and an Israeli helicopter also took part in the clashes, the medical crews said.
An Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv said an Israeli force shot a gunman during "activity against a terrorist infrastructure" in the Gaza Strip.
Israel pulled soldiers and settlers out of the coastal territory in 2005 but has continued to carry out raids in the area to try to curb cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
Earlier today, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this morning to try to bridge his differences with Israel over what a US-led Middle East peace conference might achieve.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah today.
Ms Rice has found growing interest in "intensifying the dialogue", a senior aide said, after her talks yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Ms Rice, meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres before travelling to the West Bank city of Ramallah, said she saw "a spirit and a desire to move towards peace" among Israelis and Palestinians, but there were "many obstacles to overcome".
All sides have given little away on the specifics of their talks and details of the planned international gathering, expected to convene in mid-November or early December in Washington, remain unclear.
"It could range from zero to a full-blown agreement. They are not in a position yet to put a label on it," the senior State Department official told reporters when asked how Rice could reconcile seemingly contradictory Israeli and Palestinian views on the possible results of the conference.
"Labels are really not a very good way to capture what is going on," he said, adding: "This appears to be a serious discussion about fundamental issues."
Mr Olmert has cautioned against expecting more than a declaration of principles for establishing a Palestinian state.
Mr Abbas, whose Fatah faction lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in June, has made clear he wants a deal that goes beyond previous agreements on the broad outlines of how the 60-year-old conflict can be resolved.
The Western-backed leader wants an agreement that sets a framework for resolving core disputes on borders, security and the status of Jerusalem and of Palestinian refugees from territory that is now Israel.