Three Israelis were killed in a dawn raid by Palestinian militants on a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip this morning.
Israeli troops killed at least two of the militants in the clash outside the Morag settlement.
Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Abu Rish Brigades, an armed group inside Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed joint responsibility for the morning attack.
They said their gunmen managed to infiltrate the heavily fortified coastal enclave.
Israel plans to withdraw from Gaza next year.
