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Palestinians carrying a man wounded in fighting with the Israel Defense Forces in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday. (Reuters)
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Thousands attend Gaza funerals of 11 militants killed in IDF raid
By Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies

Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza on Friday for the funerals of 11 people, including nine militants from the ruling Hamas, who were killed in an Israel Defense Forces raid into the central Gaza Strip a day earlier.

Participants marched in the streets of Bureij refugee camp and gunmen fired rifles into the air, vowing revenge.

"This blood will only increase our determination to chase the enemy and to strike it and resist by all our might until the last drop of our blood," Hamas' armed wing said in a statement
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IDF troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip early Friday, ending the latest in a series of raids aimed at militant groups and Palestinian rocket squads firing Qassam rockets at southern Israel.

Palestinians said at least 20 were wounded in the raid. In addition, two IDF soldiers were lightly hurt as gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at an army vehicle.

The IDF operation, which took place primarily in and around the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, pushed the rival Hamas and Fatah factions together in condemning the operation. Hamas leader and deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh urged the Palestinians to fight back.

"We assert that our people have the full right to defend themselves and to confront these aggressions," Haniyeh said Thursday.

Israel sent infantry, tanks and bulldozers into Gaza on Thursday while militants laid mines and fired mortars at soldiers at the Erez passenger crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Nine militants were killed in clashes in and around the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, hospital officials said. Hamas identified six as its fighters, while three remained unidentified. Among the dead was Mohammed Siam, 37, the Hamas field commander in central Gaza, Hamas TV said.

Later in the day, missiles launched by Israeli aircraft killed two more Hamas men, the group said.

A Palestinian cameraman was seriously wounded while documenting the clashes, and though the origin of the gunfire cannot be confirmed, it was apparently IDF soldiers who fired repeatedly at him while Al-Jazeera cameras documented the incident.

The Al-Jazeera satellite channel aired footage of Imad Ranem, a cameraman for Hamas Al-Aqsa television network, lying on the ground after being hit, with his camera thrown beside him. He could then be seen getting shot twice more while lying on the ground. Medical sources in Gaza reported that both his legs had later been amputated and he is in critical condition.

An IDF source said Thursday that Ranem had been in the first line of fire and was not wearing a vest indicating he was a member of the press. The source added that the man was probably not a card-carrying reporter, because his footage would probably be used for Hamas propaganda, not news.

IDF troops had probed about 1 kilometer inside Gaza on a routine operation against rocket squads when Israel Air Force troops covering their advance spotted a group of armed Palestinians approaching, the military said. Aircraft fired at the gunmen and a ground battle developed between the patrol and the militants, the army said.

Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said the group's fighters opened the clash by firing at an Israeli undercover unit.

The first clash erupted close to the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, a site of frequent clashes between gunmen and the Israeli army.

Witnesses reported a heavy exchange of fire as IDF tanks and bulldozers moved in and soldiers took positions on rooftops. Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants hit back with small arms fire, laid mines against the soldiers and fired mortars at the Erez passenger crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Two of the mortars landed on the Israeli side of the passage, which has been closed to most traffic since Hamas wrested control of Gaza last month, the army said. No one was injured, but the mortar shells ignited a fire in a road at the crossing, the army said.
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  1.   Update: Three dead! 07:03  |  Guard 05/07/07
  2.   Peace Nobel Prize for IDF & IAF! 07:04  |  Judge 05/07/07
  3.   JUDGE@2 No Save it for the Moslem Drs.IDF killed ARMED men! 07:40  |  PETERSM 05/07/07
  4.   Heads down & eyes open 07:58  |  Aussie Eli 05/07/07
  5.   Its a no-brainer 08:05  |  Macabee 05/07/07
  6.   Good job IDF! Stay safe! 08:41  |  Roni 05/07/07
  7.   Careful!!! 08:55  |  Chiang K.S 05/07/07
  8.   Excellent, 3 islamoascists less 09:12  |  maurice 05/07/07
  9.   5Macabee 09:16  |  Infidel 05/07/07
  10.   Lets go BABYy 09:35  |  Nephtaly 05/07/07
  11.   Wipeout time 09:38  |  Moshe 05/07/07
  12.   to #7 09:56  |  scanadu 05/07/07
  13.   A Matter Of Time 10:01  |  Clickfool 05/07/07
  14.   To Maurice: "Excellent, 3 islamoascists less" 10:18  |  Kalid 05/07/07
  15.   How Shocking More Palestinian Deaths by the IDF 10:24  |  Dutch 05/07/07
  16.   to # 13 10:50  |  scanadu 05/07/07
  17.   Three more terrorists that the left cannot free 10:51  |  Binyamin Dissen 05/07/07
  18.   #15 Dutch: Wrong! HAMAS CHARTER! SHALIT! KIDNAPPINGS! OY-VA-AVOY! 11:04  |  FreedomLoving People 05/07/07
  19.   Dutch, stop Qussams and suicide bombings 11:11  |  Ruzhena 05/07/07
  20.   Dutch 11:15  |  Nephtaly 05/07/07
  21.   to#16 scanadu, and #13 Clickfool, you are wrong.... 11:16  |  maurice 05/07/07
  22.   BRAVO IDF 11:21  |  alan 05/07/07
  23.   To Dutch No. 15 11:27  |  Doris Cadigan 05/07/07
  24.   FROM ISRAEL WITH LOVE 11:39  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  25.   PeterSM and Ausie Eli. Did you read Ausie news today? 11:44  |  Maureen Ann 05/07/07
  26.   Lets set up a charity fund for Dutch`s & Clickfool`s medications! 12:00  |  Roni 05/07/07
  27.   Delerious Doris #15 12:00  |  Jo Jo 05/07/07
  28.   To Doris 23# and clickfool 13# 12:04  |  danalogue 05/07/07
  29.   Starting a war with Israel, this is new Hamas law and order regim 12:09  |  Genuine Tosefta 05/07/07
  30.   Indrajaya you are a fool 12:20  |  N.sharma 05/07/07
  31.   Clickfool mistake 12:38  |  N.shaki 05/07/07
  32.   IN THIS CASE, ACCEPT THAT QASSAM MISSILES RETALIATION... 12:44  |  Patriot 05/07/07
  33.   Hamas is on the firing line... by corrupt Fatah and zionists 12:47  |  Ginger 05/07/07
  34.   Marking Time until the WMD`s arrive 12:48  |  Natallie Durson 05/07/07
  35.   # 30, N. SHARMA 12:56  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  36.   Maureen N The front page seems to be occupied by the Jihad doctor 12:58  |  PETER SM 05/07/07
  37.   To danalogue No. 28: Regarding Doris and Clickfool 13:03  |  Doris Cadigan 05/07/07
  38.   # 30, N.SHARMA 13:05  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  39.   Clickfool from the Ministry of Truth 13:05  |  Winston Smith 05/07/07
  40.   THE ISRAELI ARMY GETS FOULER BY THE MINUTE 13:05  |  Dutch 05/07/07
  41.   Ginger reply 13:08  |  N.shaki 05/07/07
  42.   #13 Clickfool 13:23  |  Itsik 05/07/07
  43.   IDF and IAF, kol hakavod 13:23  |  Jean 05/07/07
  44.   When they`re fighting Fatah they`re "gunmen",not "militants" 13:29  |  Absolute Sweden 05/07/07
  45.   #24 Indrajaya - You don`t speak for Islam, only for its radicals. 13:30  |  Farid 05/07/07
  46.   Ms. Moron An aBlease be our new hostage, we need headlines on BBC 13:33  |  Jalal 05/07/07
  47.   #15 DORIS WITH MORE SPOTS IN HER EYES 13:34  |  paul harris 05/07/07
  48.   #40 DORIS IN SHOCK AT HAMAS DEATHS 13:36  |  paul harris 05/07/07
  49.   #34 NATALLIE OUT OF CONTEXT AS USUAL 13:39  |  paul harris 05/07/07
  50.   #34. Maureen.The same might be said about Palestinian leadership 13:42  |  Farid 05/07/07
  51.   To the non-patriot 13:46  |  Hastaroth 05/07/07
  52.   Under Barak 13:48  |  JIA 05/07/07
  53.   Maureen Ann - It sure is, convict, just not the way you think. 13:49  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  54.   eply Farid 13:57  |  n.shaki 05/07/07
  55.   #44 - Dutch. Here is the equation for your viewing pleasure 13:58  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  56.   # 45, FARID 14:00  |  Indrajaya 05/07/07
  57.   re #50 (#34) Apologies - Meant for Natalie Durson 14:01  |  Farid 05/07/07
  58.   "Starting a war with Israel" 14:02  |  Murray 05/07/07
  59.   # 45, FARID 14:06  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  60.   Why does HaArez call terrorists `militants` ? 14:06  |  redmike 05/07/07
  61.   Time to Take Out the Trash 14:09  |  Jane 05/07/07
  62.   #50 - Fareeeed with the understatement of the day 14:10  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  63.   Returning good with evil is no way to bring your soldier home 14:22  |  DISAPPOINTED 05/07/07
  64.   #56 Indrajaya 14:26  |  Farid 05/07/07
  65.   #55 My Equation....free of charge 14:40  |  Dutch 05/07/07
  66.   Relentless IDF Provocations 14:44  |  chet 05/07/07
  67.   Farid # 64 14:53  |  ChanahS 05/07/07
  68.   #60 - The reasoning goes like this: 14:57  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  69.   Keep dreaming Dutch 15:00  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  70.   No question about it,israel could not stand the media attention 15:03  |  lakshmi 05/07/07
  71.   # 64, FARID 15:08  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  72.   The difference is... 15:12  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 05/07/07
  73.   Chet # 66 15:14  |  ChanahS 05/07/07
  74.   To Dutch No. 65 15:16  |  Doris Cadigan 05/07/07
  75.   Haaretz`s golden boys 15:17  |  ScotGuy 05/07/07
  76.   #66 chet and the cowards worldwide 15:18  |  victor hardman 05/07/07
  77.   To WWACD No. 68 15:19  |  Neil 05/07/07
  78.   #65 A world without Jews 15:22  |  WWACD 05/07/07
  79.   To WWACD,,, Welcome Back ! 15:28  |  Klaudia 05/07/07
  80.   #15 - Dutch 15:29  |  Maurice