It is reported that Israeli troops have shot dead a member of the radical Palestinian movement, Islamic Jihad, during a failed attack on a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Jihad confirmed the death of the 23-year-old militant.
He was killed during an assault on the settlement which was carried out in conjunction with the Brigades.
The attack on the settlement, one of 21 which are due to be uprooted by Israel this summer, came as the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a visit to the region.
Dr Rice held talks with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah to hear how they intend to keep the peace in Gaza during and after the Israeli pullout.
Afterwards she described the meeting as excellent.
Speaking earlier, the Palestinian deputy prime minister Nabil Shaff said the Palestinians are concerned about the effect of the withdrawal on their own security
Both Jihad and Al-Aqsa are understood to be observing a de facto truce.
The latest death brings to 4,769 the number of people killed since the September 2000 launch of the Palestinian uprising, including 3,705 Palestinians and 988 Israelis.
