Israel Defense Forces troops killed five Palestinian gunmen on Friday in clashes with militants in the southern Gaza Strip, according to medical workers and militants.
An Israel Air Force strike on gunmen east of Gaza's southern city
of Rafah killed three Hamas militants, medical workers said.
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An IDF spokeswoman confirmed a strike had been carried out against militants who had fired an anti-tank missile at troops, moderately wounding a soldier. The soldier was evacuated by helicopter to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.
Separately, the Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its fighters were killed by IDF soldiers in the central Gaza Strip.
The IDF spokeswoman said soldiers fired at a group of gunmen who had tried to plant a bomb near Israel's border fence with Gaza.
Heavy clashes erupted before dawn when IDF troops entered an area known as Sufa in the southeastern part of the coastal enclave.
The IDF spokesman said troops had been operating in the area since Thursday evening and clashed with militants but he had no information about Palestinian casualties.
Medical workers said soldiers arrested about 30 Palestinians during the raid. The army said it was checking the report.
Also on Friday, two Qassam rockets hit the western Negev; no one was injured.
Erez crossing blast may be part of botched abduction bid
On Thursday, truck filled with explosives blew up on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing in the Gaza Strip. IDF sources said it seems the truck was supposed to explode on the Israeli side, but must have blown up too early either due to a technical problem or because it ran into poles near the crossing.
A short time later, the Israel Air Force attacked a jeep fleeing the area near the crossing and heading toward Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces believes that the failed attack, and the jeep, were part of an attempt to abduct IDF soldiers.
At 6:30 A.M. Thursday morning the huge explosion rocked the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as the truck loaded with about four tons of explosives blew up about 100 meters from the Israeli side of the crossing.
Islamic Jihad said it and Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade cooperated in the attack. Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad's armed wing, identified the suicide bomber as 23-year-old Ibrahim Nasser from Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip. The group released a video of Nasser, a young bearded man in uniform, smiling as he brandished a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
The jeep was meant to drive through a hole blown in the Israelis' defenses and help in the abduction of soldiers, or possibly to transport the militants to the Israeli side. Palestinians also fired mortar rounds at Israeli positions before and during the attack.
The entire area was covered by heavy fog at the time of the attack, and as a result IDF forces changed their deployment, in response to lessons learned in past attacks that took place amid poor visibility. The fog made it difficult for IDF soldiers at observation points to see the attackers.
Despite the huge blast, no Israelis were injured. The IDF credited the lack of casualties to its preparations "in light of the numerous warnings throughout the entire sector."
On nearby Moshav Netiv Ha'asara, residents reported shattered windows from the blast. The explosion also damaged power lines, causing electrical problems in a number of neighboring Palestinian towns.
The explosion left a 12-meter wide and meter-deep hole, and only a few bits of the truck remained. The blast was heard up to 30 kilometers away.
The army closed the Erez crossing after the attack, and 31 Palestinians,
mostly sick people on their way to medical treatment and their escorts, were not allowed to enter Israel.
Also Thursday, an IDF force killed a Palestinian demonstrator and wounded about another 10, after the demonstrators threw rocks at the Karni crossing and Palestinians opened fire. The demonstration was part of a march protesting the closing of the crossings into the Gaza Strip after the morning attack.
The IDF said that men armed with light weapons and even antitank missiles were scattered in the crowd of demonstrators. The IDF said the militants opened fire a number of times from within the crowd.
