Israelis Whack Five Hamas Goons

Some good news to start the day.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops and armor crossed into the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing six Palestinians, at least five of them militants from the Islamist Hamas group that controls the coastal territory.

Israeli forces exchanged fire with gunmen in al-Maghazi refugee camp, and militants said they also fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops.

Israeli aircraft attacked several militants who came close to troops during the raid, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. Palestinian medics said two militants were killed in the air strike and a Hamas television cameraman was wounded.

Palestinian medical workers said the bodies of three other militants and an unidentified man arrived in hospital, apparently killed in the ground clashes. Five of those killed by Israel belonged to Hamas, medics said.

The army spokeswoman said soldiers had carried out a routine operation about a kilometer (half-mile) inside Gaza to search for militants, including those involved in rocket attacks against Israel, and to find tunnels used to smuggle weapons.

One thing I wish they'd do with these tunnels is fill them with explosives, detonate them, flush out the garbage, then seal them with concrete. So what if a few "militants" are in there?