Israeli air strike on Gaza gunmen wounds 8

GAZA - Israel's air force struck a group of Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding at least eight people including bystanders, medics and witnesses said.

Witnesses earlier said one person was killed in the missile strike on Gaza City's Shijaia district, an Islamic militant stronghold where Israeli forces have been operating since the weekend. But medics later amended the casualty toll.

"The air force struck three gunmen who were spotted approaching our forces," an Israeli military spokesman said.

Witnesses confirmed that the air strike appeared to have targeted gunmen. At least eight Palestinians, most of them armed, have been killed in the recent clashes in Shijaia.

Israel says its forces are searching the district for militant facilities.

Israeli troops and settlers pulled out of the Gaza Strip a year ago. Israeli ground forces re-entered the territory two months ago after militants from Gaza seized a soldier and killed two other troops in a cross-border raid.

- REUTERS