Israeli air strike kills three in Gaza

Israeli aircraft killed three Palestinian gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, medical officials and the Israeli army said.

Residents said the planes fired on a car in which the three

men were travelling near the town of Khan Younis.

An Israeli military spokesman said the air strike was aimed

at "a Hamas terrorist squad planning to kidnap Israelis over the

upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover."

Hamas, Gaza's rulers, confirmed the men were


members of its armed wing, but denied they were planning a

kidnapping and threatened reprisal. "The enemy will pay for this

assassination crime," a statement said.

Saturday's air strike raised to 15 the number of people

killed since a flare up of violence last month.

Israel and the Palestinians have signalled a readiness to

return to a de facto ceasefire which has kept the border mostly

quiet since the end of the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.