Palestinians: Five Hamas operatives killed in IDF operation

Five Hamas operatives were killed in a pre-dawn IDF operation in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. The army confirmed that troops were operating in the area near Gaza City and that they had fired, together with Israeli aircraft, at gunmen who approached the soldiers. The troops were operating "against the terror infrastructure" in the area, the army spokesman said. The army force was located about 400 yards (meters) inside the Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses said.