Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday including four militants in air strikes and clashes, rescue workers said, and the army briefly eased its grip on a town at the centre of a major offensive, Reuters reported. One of the gunmen was killed in battles with Israeli soldiers backed by tanks near the northern town of Beit Hanoun, witnesses said. Militants fired anti-tank rockets at troops, they added. One soldier was seriously wounded, the army said. As darkness fell on Saturday, troops began house-to-house searches for militants, local residents said. The violence came a day after Israel killed 17 people, about half of them civilians, including two women acting as human shields between troops and gunmen hiding in a mosque in Beit Hanoun. Israel's army said it only fired at armed Palestinians.
