Three militants killed in Gaza explosion

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A bomb planted by militants trying to blow up an Israeli bulldozer yesterday killed three Palestinians during an Israeli operation to destroy weapons-smuggling tunnels, the militants and the Israeli army said.

The roadside bomb in the Rafah refugee camp went off a few metres from where the bulldozer was piling up mounds of dirt in a crowded residential area, according to Associated Press Television footage. The violence came a day after vigilantes killed three Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel – two of them in their hospital beds – in an incident that highlighted the progressive breakdown of law and order in Gaza.The Hamas militant organisation said two of the casualties in Rafah were its members, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed one of the dead men.The explosion blow off half of one man’s skull.Palestinian security officials said there was no fire from Israeli helicopters that were flying overhead or from Israeli tanks.Moments before, masked militants were filmed putting a detonator in an alley near the road.Palestinian ambulances already were standing by, as people in nearby buildings waved white flags to show the Israelis the buildings were inhabited by civilians.Meanwhile, Hamas aired a video on the Al-Arabiya satellite television showing three masked men surrounded by weapons.One of the men read a statement threatening to rain rockets from the Gaza Strip on the Israeli town of Sderot.”We will continue to shell you every day to see what your defeated army will do for you,” the Hamas threat said.”Oh residents of Sderot, stop your army from carrying out their crimes and get them out of Beit Hanoun, otherwise you will play the price.”- Nampa-APThe violence came a day after vigilantes killed three Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel – two of them in their hospital beds – in an incident that highlighted the progressive breakdown of law and order in Gaza.The Hamas militant organisation said two of the casualties in Rafah were its members, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed one of the dead men.The explosion blow off half of one man’s skull.Palestinian security officials said there was no fire from Israeli helicopters that were flying overhead or from Israeli tanks.Moments before, masked militants were filmed putting a detonator in an alley near the road.Palestinian ambulances already were standing by, as people in nearby buildings waved white flags to show the Israelis the buildings were inhabited by civilians.Meanwhile, Hamas aired a video on the Al-Arabiya satellite television showing three masked men surrounded by weapons.One of the men read a statement threatening to rain rockets from the Gaza Strip on the Israeli town of Sderot.”We will continue to shell you every day to see what your defeated army will do for you,” the Hamas threat said.”Oh residents of Sderot, stop your army from carrying out their crimes and get them out of Beit Hanoun, otherwise you will play the price.”- Nampa-AP