Israeli ground forces backed by warplanes exchanged fire with Hamas fighters in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing a teacher and six gunmen. The 38-year-old teacher died and two other staffers were hurt when an Israeli surface-to-surface missile struck an agricultural school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, Hamas security forces said. Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry said the man was killed outside of the school gate. The fighting erupted earlier in the day after Israeli tanks drove several hundred meters (yards) into northern Gaza. Hamas fighters and Israel troops traded automatic fire, as Israeli aircraft fired missiles and Hamas lobbed mortar shells. Five Hamas men were killed, three by missiles and two by gunfire, said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing. Two were field commanders, he said. The Islamic Jihad faction said one of its member also died in the clash. Palestinian medics confirmed that six bodies were removed from the area. The military reported that seven rockets were fired at southern Israel on Thursday morning, including one that landed in the yard of a home in the rocket-scarred town of Sderot, slightly injuring one person. Hamas said it fired 40 rockets and 60 mortars at southern Israel since a deadly Israeli airstrike on a Hamas outpost Tuesday afternoon. The military said some 70 rockets and mortars had been fired, according to a report of the Associated Press.
