The Israeli military killed two Hamas men and two Palestinian civilians on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, medical workers said.

Israeli air strikes in the southern Gaza Strip killed a Hamas activist, Palestinian medics said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops clashed with gunmen during an incursion in the Khan Younis area and called in two air strikes against the gunmen. Israeli troops entered the village of Khouzza in the Hamas-controlled territory and clashed with fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the army said, according to Reuters.

Separately, Israeli soldiers shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian during an incursion near Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the medical workers said, according to Reuters. An Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip killed a Hamas gunman and a civilian, medical workers said.

Meanwhile, Egypt closed its border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a security official said, after opening it for three days to allow Palestinians to leave the coastal territory for medical treatment. Since Saturday, 1,433 Palestinians crossed from the besieged Gaza Strip into Egypt, the official said, according to AFP.

Egyptian authorities discovered three new tunnels used for smuggling goods into the Gaza Strip, seizing a large amount of toys in one, a security official told AFP. The tunnels were uncovered near the Rafah border crossing, the second such find in as many days, the official said.

© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)