Israeli troops storm eastern Rafah, kill two Hamas gunmen

Two gunmen of the ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) were killed on Wednesday morning during clashes with Israeli army forces east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, medics and eyewitnesses said.

The witnesses said they saw a column of Israeli army vehicles, including tank, armored vehicles and bulldozers rolling at predawn on Wednesday into the area close to the shut-down Gaza airport.

They added that Palestinian militants tried to block the advancing Israeli army vehicles into the area, and opened fire at the Israeli soldiers, who responded back and killed the two Hamas gunmen.

Palestinian medics at Rafah Hospital reported that it received the bodies of the two killed Palestinians, adding that Palestinian ambulances brought the two bodies from the eastern area of Rafah town.

Palestinian security sources said they were told by local residents that Israeli army bulldozers were leveling wide areas of lands very close to the shut-down Rafah border crossing between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The sources expressed fears that razing lands close to Rafah border crossing could be an indication that the Israeli army would storm the crossing, which is the sole key crossing for the Gazans to the outside world.

Israel had threatened several days ago that it would enlarge ground military operations into Gaza Strip to prevent smuggling of weapons through the borders between Gaza and Egypt.

The Israeli army also said that the aim of such operations is to prevent militants from launching homemade rockets from Gaza at Israel and free a captive Israeli soldier abducted in southern Gaza Strip on June 25.

Source: Xinhua