Medical workers and Hamas said four of the militants were affiliated with Hamas and two came from the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of militant groups.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the attack was mounted from the air and ground after gunmen fired several anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops operating in the area. Hamas's armed wing, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, vowed to continue fighting Israel until victory or martyrdom . Hamas forces routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces to seize control of the coastal territory in June. The Jewish state regularly raids the Gaza Strip to try to stop Gaza militants from firing mortars and short-range rockets into southern Israel.
Israel pulled settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005 in a withdrawal that Palestinians do not consider an end to occupation because Israeli authorities still control Gaza's borders, its air space and coastal waters.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday that even though rocket fire continues, the army had made strides in curbing militant activity in Gaza through air strikes and raids. He reiterated that a major incursion was not imminent.
“We will bring an end to the Qassam (rocket fire). We are not eager to launch a big operation, but we will not be deterred from doing it, if and when we have to,” Barak told Israel Radio. Abbas, who holds sway in the larger West Bank, in November relaunched talks with Israel and aims to reach a deal on Palestinian statehood by the end of the year.
But Hamas opposes the peace drive and vows to undermine it. Its control of the Gaza Strip will complicate any deal.
Abbas this week urged Hamas to cede control of Gaza and start reconciliation talks with his Fatah faction, but hours later some of the worst factional fighting between the two sides in months erupted in Gaza, killing eight people. Meanwhile, about 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims who had been stranded in Egypt en route from Mecca entered the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday in defiance of Israeli demands, witnesses said. Some 2,200 Palestinians had been stuck in Egypt for about a week after returning from the Muslim haj pilgrimage because Israel insisted they return to Gaza through its own border crossings for fear some would smuggle arms or money for Hamas.
But on Wednesday hundreds poured through the Rafah border crossing, which is run by Egypt and Hamas. The group as well as Egyptian security and border sources said more than 1,000 had already crossed and the rest would do so shortly. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said he was not aware of any agreement to allow the pilgrims back via Rafah and was checking the report.
Israel has no presence at Rafah, but a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and the Palestinians says the crossing cannot be opened without Israel's consent.
The pilgrims had been stranded in Egypt for about a week while Cairo tried to negotiate an agreement on their return with Israel and the Palestinians. Some smashed furniture and windows during protests at a shelter there.
Thank God we have carried out our religious duties and returned to Gaza, said pilgrim Abu Mohammad after entering the territory. Performing the haj is a religious obligation for all Muslims who are physically able to do so.
