An Israeli soldier and a Hamas fighter were killed in clashes in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli army and Palestinian medical staff said. According to Reuters, an army spokeswoman said one soldier was killed and two others lightly hurt after troops entered the southern Gaza Strip in an attempt to stop cross-border rocket fire into southern Israel. An Israeli source said Wednesday that the incident took place during routine Israeli operations against the "Palestinian terror infrastructure."
Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters said they fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortar bombs at the troops, who were backed by helicopters. A second Hamas man was injured in the clashes, medical workers said.
