4 Palestinians killed, 17 wounded in Israeli raids in southern Gaza

Israeli troops and aircraft attacked Islamic militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing two Hamas fighters and two civilians, militant factions and Palestinian medical officials said.

Seventeen others, including seven civilians, were wounded, they said.

Hamas _ the militant group that wrested control of Gaza in June _ said one of its men died in a pre-dawn airstrike east of the town of Khan Younis. A second was killed along with his 70-year-old mother when ground troops fired at their house, Hamas said.

Later in the morning, ground troops clashed with militants in the area, and Palestinian medical officials said a second civilian was shot dead by soldiers when he went out to the roof of his house.

The Israeli army said aircraft struck armed militants three times in the morning and that ground forces shot a gunman who posed a threat to soldiers.

Israeli aircraft struck hit the area again in the afternoon, wounding two Islamic Jihad militants as they exited their car, the faction said. Israel confirmed the airstrike but gave no information about its target.

The army often carries out raids into Gaza to target militants and to thwart rocket fire toward southern Israeli towns.

The military said Palestinians fired a rocket from northern Gaza toward Israel on Tuesday morning. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Also Tuesday, four Palestinians slipped into Israel through the heavily guarded Israel-Gaza border fence, the army said. It was the second such infiltration in two days. Four suspects were apprehended in southern Israel and questioned, the army said.

The army said it was not clear if the Palestinians were militants or civilians looking for work in Israel.

U.N. officials and Gaza businessmen have warned that the coastal strip's economy could collapse unless Israel reopens crucial commercial trade crossings it closed after Hamas seized control of Gaza. Israel refuses to do business with the militant group that has killed more than 250 people in suicide bombings.

According to a poll released Tuesday, 80 percent of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip think their economic situation has deteriorated since the Hamas takeover. The survey of 400 people by the Near East Consulting firm also found that 70 percent of Gazans live in poverty, pollster Jamil Rabah said. The poverty level in Gaza is $475 a month for a family of two adults and four children, he said.