April 08, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1428

GAZA CITY, April 7: Israel launched an air strike against suspected Gaza militants on Saturday, killing one and wounding two, as it made good on threats to get tough over persistent rocket fire from the territory.

Israeli fire also wounded a Palestinian militant commander on its most wanted list in the West Bank town of Jenin in what the militant group called a deliberate assassination attempt.

Palestinian medics named the militant killed in the Gaza raid as Fuad Maaruf, 22, an activist of the leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The DFLP said Maaruf was killed by missiles from an Israeli helicopter as he was taking part in an “extended ambush” of Israeli troops operating inside the Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said the helicopters opened fire on an area east of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip while several Israeli tanks advanced a few metres (yards) into the territory.

The Israeli military confirmed the air raid but denied any ground incursion. The helicopters opened fire after suspect movements near the security barrier to the east of Jabaliya.—AFP