Israeli troops kill five Palestinians in Gaza gunfight

Israeli troops killed five Palestinians today during a shootout in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, local doctors said.

Israeli troops killed five Palestinians today during a shootout in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, local doctors said.

The army said it killed one man, an alleged member of the militant Islamic group Hamas, as he tried to evade arrest. The military said troops fired at the fleeing man and he exploded, indicating he was carrying a bomb or wearing an explosive belt of the type used by suicide bombers.

Palestinian doctors disputed the Israeli account, saying the dead man suffered extensive bullet wounds but showed no signs of having been in an explosion. They said another four people died as Palestinians engaged in a fierce gunfight with the Israeli squad.

The military could not immediately confirm the additional Palestinian deaths and reported no Israeli casualties during the Khan Younis raid.