Three Palestinians was killed early on Tuesday, as Israeli ground force entered the Gaza Strip for the first time since unilateral Israeli pullout last September, an Israel Defense Force (IDF) spokeswoman confirmed to Xinhua.

The three Palestinians, whose identities are yet to be clarified, were killed during a gunbattle between IDF and Palestinian militants, the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz said that during a rare ground operation in the Gaza Strip, IDF special forces troops killed at least three members of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), who were about to fire Qassam rockets into Israel early on Tuesday.

The clash was followed by Israeli helicopter missile strike, in which at least one militant was killed, the report quoted the witness as saying.

Source: Xinhua