Thirteen Palestinians killed in Gaza

Israel's Army Radio said yesterday that 13 Palestinians had been killed during an Israeli raid into the edge of Gaza City.

The fighting apparently erupted when the Army launched an operation near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, in the heart of the teeming Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants fired anti-tank missiles and set off an explosive at the troops who fired back, the Army said.

Later, the Army entered a Gaza City neighbourhood near Netzarim, and a fierce battle flared between troops and gunmen.

Gunmen, some of them hefting rocket launchers over their shoulders, ran past ambulance crews treating the wounded at the scene of the fighting. A group of boys took cover behind a tin shack as gunfire crackled down a street.

As two Israeli tanks rumbled along another road, a rocket propelled grenade whizzed just a few metres in front of the two vehicles, leaving a streak of white smoke. The tanks swivelled their barrels and fired machine guns.