OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

AP/Independent: Israeli troops kill eight people in Gaza incursion

Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, among them a teenager and a woman, in fighting that erupted early today during an incursion into refugee camps in the Gaza Strip.

The raid came a day after Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz vowed to step up the military's assault on Hamas militants. Yesterday, Israeli forces invaded Khan Younis, killing three Palestinians, one of them a nine-year-old boy.

Dr Moawia Hassnen, chief of emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry, accused the army of targeting civilian homes and ambulances. He said medical personnel were denied access to treat the wounded.

"What's happened is a war crime," he said. "This brutal act will increase the number of people killed and threaten the lives of all the injured people."