Five Palestinian militants were killed and 16 others injured late Monday and early Tuesday in armed clashes with an Israeli elite undercover unit in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics and security sources reported.

The incident marked the first time that an Israeli undercover unit had operated in the Gaza Strip since it came under the control of the Palestinian National Authority after Israeli pullout last September.

Mohamed Sultan, chief of emergency at Kamal Odwan Hospital in northern Gaza Strip, said that the hospital had received five bodies of the Palestinians and 16 others with moderate wounds.

In a separate report, Palestinian medics in the area said that a number of Palestinians had been injured by the Israeli special unit's gunfire, including a journalist working for the local radio station "Youth Radio."

Witnesses said that a number of residents in the area had rushed to the scene to rescue the injured people, but the soldiers who were backed by helicopters and armored vehicles opened fire on them.

The witnesses said the clashes started when a group of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) militants arrived at their positions in the northern Gaza Strip, preparing to launch homemade rockets at targets in southern Israel.

The militants and the Israeli soldiers in the special unit exchanged fire.

Source: Xinhua