Israeli troops raided southern Gaza early Thursday, killing at least six Palestinians, four of them activists and one an 8-year-old boy in the the latest stage of their monthlong offensive, Palestinian officials said. About 50 tanks, accompanied by bulldozers, pushed into an area near the Gaza-Egypt border before dawn, taking up positions near the long-closed Gaza airport, residents and Palestinian security officials said. The forces advanced about eight kilometers (five miles), the farthest since the offensive started in late June, blocking a main highway and the eastern entrance to Rafah, a town on the Egyptian border. As the tanks took up positions, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at four groups of gunmen, killing four. Twenty-six Palestinians were wounded in the air strikes, at least 10 of them activists, the Associated Press quoted security and hospital officials as saying.
