Six Palestinians killed in clashes with IDF troops in Gaza

Six Palestinians were killed and at least 15 were injured early Thursday in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops in a Gaza refugee camp on the Egyptian border, Palestinian sources said.

Three of the injured were children, one of them, 12, was in critical condition.

According to military sources, three of those killed were militants. During the operation the IDF arrested wanted Islamic Jihad militant Haled Kadi, who was involved in arms smuggling and placing explosive charges. The IDF later demolished three houses in the area, including Kadi's.

The sources said IDF troops forces entered the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border before daybreak and surrounded the house of an Islamic Jihad militant. Palestinians opened fire on the troops, threw hand grenades from the roof of the building, fired anti-tank missiles, and the IDF sent attack helicopters in as reinforcements.

The camp is a frequent scene of battles. Israeli soldiers enter often to search for tunnels Palestinians use to smuggle arms in under the Egyptian border.

The fighting spread to a local cemetery, where militants and Israeli troops exchanged gunfire using tombstones for cover, witnesses said. The IDF said its soldiers did not enter the cemetery but shot back when Palestinian fighters in the grave yard opened fire.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the raid.

"The Israeli policy of settlement expansion, building the wall, assassination and all the unilateral steps lead to one thing: enlarging the circle of violence," he said.

In the West Bank, IDF troops overnight Thursday arrested 11 wanted Palestinians, including one woman.

On Wednesday, the IDF destroyed an abandoned building covering the entrance to a large, deep tunnel discovered a day earlier, according to a statement from the military. Palestinians said the soldiers blew up a three-story building where 30 people lived.

	Mourners praying over the bodies of five Palestinians killed in clashes with the IDF in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. (AP)