Israeli troops shot several Palestinians today during a raid into the northern Gaza Strip, local residents and ambulance workers said.
Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees said their fighters confronted the Israelis in the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, an area used by militants as a launching ground for rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Residents and ambulance workers said the Israeli soldiers shot several Palestinians, but medical crews could not immediately reach them because of the fighting.
"Forces are operating in the northern strip against terror infrastructure," an Israeli army spokesman said in Tel Aviv.
"Troops identified two armed men and shot both of them, but cannot confirm they are dead. An anti-tank missile was also fired at the (Israeli) force," the spokesman said.
The Gaza Strip has been under the control of Hamas Islamists since they routed fighters from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in a brief civil war in June.