Israeli forces are reported to have arrested one of the founding members of the militant Islamic group, Hamas.
According to Palestinian officials, 67-year-old Sheikh Mohammed Taha (also known as Abu Ayman) was arrested during a raid on the El Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
He is one of the most senior Hamas figures to be arrested since the intifada began in September 2000.
Israel has accused him of direct links to 'terrorist' activities, and said a substantial arms stash was found in his home.
He has been arrested by Israel in the past, but has also spent time in Palestinian jails, according to Hamas officials.
Palestinians killed
Eight Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy and a pregnant woman, were killed during an Israeli Army incursion into the Gaza Strip this morning.
About 35 others were injured as Israeli forces, including about 40 tanks and APCs, exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters at the El Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Four houses were also demolished during the fighting.
Medical sources said the pregnant woman was in one of the houses and refused to leave. They said she was killed by falling rubble.
The teenage boy was killed during exchanges of gunfire.
The six others killed were aged between 17 and 24. It is not yet known if they were armed.
Also today, the Israeli Army launched a major operation in the old town of Nablus in the West Bank.
Up to 20 tanks took up position and a curfew was imposed on the sector. The army began searches and took over several high rise buildings, according to AFP.
