Two Killed in West Bank Raid

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant and a teenager today during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

Islamic Jihad said the militant was Bilal Komel, 25, a military commander long-wanted by Israel.

The second was identified as 19-year-old Ayed Zakarna. They were shot after Israeli soldiers surrounded the house in which they were believed to be hiding.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops fired at militants after they refused to leave a car parked in the driveway of the home, in the Qabatiya refugee camp near the city of Jenin.

Today's raid followed the deadliest day in Gaza for a month, when 17 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and three Israeli soldiers, were killed.

Hundreds of Palestinians, including many local journalists, took part in a funeral procession for a Reuters TV cameraman killed while covering yesterday's fighting. His body was draped in a Palestinian flag and his shattered camera and flak jacket were raised on a separate stretcher.

Reuters said a medical examination of Fadel Shana's body revealed he died after being hit by metal darts from an Israeli tank shell that exploded nearby. Early reports said he was killed by a missile fired from an aircraft.

X-rays from Gaza's Shifa hospital showed several of the controversial weapons, known as flechettes, embedded in the 23-year-old Palestinian's chest and legs.

Several of the 3cm (1in) darts were found in Shana's flak jacket, marked with a florescent Press sign, and in his vehicle, an unarmored four-wheel drive bearing TV and Press markings.

Video recovered from from Shana's camera showed the tank opening fire. Two seconds later the shot raises dust around its gun and the tape goes blank. A frame-by-frame examination showed the shell exploding in mid-air and dark shapes shooting out.

An Israeli military official said: "We wish to express sorrow for the death of the Palestinian cameraman ... It should be emphasized that the area in which the cameraman was hurt is an area in which ongoing fighting against armed, extreme and dangerous terrorist organizations occurs on a daily basis."

Yesterday's death toll was the highest since an Israeli military offensive in early March which killed more than 120 Gazans, including dozens of civilians.

Since then an uneasy truce had appeared to hold, though Palestinian rocket attacks, Israeli air strikes and minor border skirmishes were reported.

The ceasefire was incontrovertibly ended yesterday when clashes broke out close to the Nahal Oz fuel crossing - the sole supply line for fuel into Gaza and run by Hamas Islamists.

The Israeli military moved into Gaza after armed men were seen close to the terminal. Heavy fighting led to the deaths of three Israeli soldiers and at least four Hamas militants. Israeli troops, using tanks and aircraft, then struck in several areas of the territory.