GAZA CITY, Dec 23: Eight Palestinians were killed during an Israeli army raid in Gaza Strip on Tuesday, hours after two Israeli officials died in a grenade attack during one of the bloodiest bouts of violence in months.

Palestinian medical and security sources said the eight who were killed in the Rafah refugee camp, including a policeman and a rescue worker, had died after exchanges of fire with Israeli troops during the operation, which involved some 15 jeeps and armoured vehicles.

Medical sources said another 34 people had been injured, eight of whom were in a serious condition. Among those injured were three children aged between three and five, they added.

Israeli military sources said that they had sustained no casualties during the operation, which, they said, was aimed at destroying tunnels linking the Gaza Strip with Egypt used to smuggle weapons.

A “very deep and very long” tunnel that had been discovered underneath a three-storey building would now be destroyed, one source added.

“It is proof that they are definitely using the civilian infrastructure and civilian population (for) terror activity,” he said.

The army said it had come under fire “from numerous spots on numerous occasions” and had responded in kind.

Israeli military sources said they had found the body of the second of two Palestinians who were involved in the attack on Israeli troops in the centre of Gaza on Monday night.

Two Israeli army officers were killed in the clash, which occurred near the Kissufim crossing point, a road that links Israeli territory to Gush Katif, a cluster of Jewish settlements.

Witnesses said Islamic Jihad’s armed wing and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.—AFP