GAZA STRIP, August 23 (RIA Novosti) - At least five militants of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas were wounded in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza early Thursday, local medical staff said.
The Israeli army confirmed that a military drone had opened fire at a group of gunmen who had moved within close range of Israeli soldiers on patrol near the town of Khan Younis.
At least 13 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the week.
Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since a violent June coup, when it defeated loyalists of the president-led Fatah party. The West Bank remains the hands of Fatah, which is backed by the West and Israel.
