Eight Hamas militants killed in Gaza clashes

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Palestinian children run for cover during an Israeli military incursion into the al-Burij refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip.

GAZA CITY, July 5 (AFP): Israel clashed with Hamas militants inside the Gaza Strip Thursday, killing eight in a fierce gunbattle that drew in Israeli aircraft, tanks and bulldozers.
The army said airmen on a routine patrol about half a mile inside the Gaza Strip saw militants approaching the soldiers and opened fire with machine guns. The militants then fired at the patrol, leading to a shootout on the ground, the army said.
Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said its fighters started the clash by opening fire at an Israeli undercover unit.
Witnesses reported heavy fire as Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved in, and soldiers took positions on rooftops. Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, meanwhile, laid mines against the soldiers.
Hamas officials said some 15 tanks and three bulldozers had moved into Palestinian farms, near the town of Jebaliya, and were leveling the land. The army would not comment.
Hospital officials said six militants were killed, and Hamas said all belonged to its group. Among the dead was Mohammed Siam, 37, the Hamas field commander in central Gaza, Hamas TV said.
Israeli aircraft later dropped missiles at militant targets in the area, the army said. Hospital officials said two militants were killed. Hamas said both were members.
The fighting took place close to the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, a site of frequent clashes between gunmen and the Israeli army.
Hospital officials confirmed at least four dead and four wounded. Hamas TV said all four belonged to the organisation. Among the dead was Mohammed Siam, 37, the Hamas field commander in central Gaza, Hamas TV said.
In Gaza City, meanwhile, some 400 Fatah civil servants were prevented from entering their offices as part of the power struggle between the moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers of Gaza. The territories have been functioning as separate entities since Hamas seized Gaza by force last month.
The Hamas-dictated work week in Gaza runs from Saturday to Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday assigned as the weekend. Salam Fayyad, the new Palestinian prime minister, recently announced the Palestinian work week would run from Sunday through Thursday, as it does in Israel.
Hamas forces on Thursday barred people from entering government offices, saying they were closed because it was the official weekend. Most Palestinian civil servants are loyal to Fatah.
"We told them that the government in Ramallah announced new weekend days but they said the people in Ramallah are not the government," said Imad, 40, who works at the public works ministry, and refused to give his last name for fear of Hamas retribution.
"We are not coming on Saturday because its the official weekend. This is the beginning of the battle against the coup government in Gaza," he said.
Abu Dajana, a Hamas security officer, said the orders of the "legitimate government" in Gaza would be implemented.
On Wednesday, Gaza government employees loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah collected their first full salaries in 15 months. Civil servants who sided with Hamas' bloody takeover of Gaza were not paid.