Israeli forces killed a Palestinian and detained a senior member of the governing Hamas movement in a raid in southern Gaza early today, witnesses said.
Family members said the dead man was the brother of Younis Abu Daqqa, the detained Hamas member.
Witnesses said Israeli commandos clashed with Palestinian gunmen during the raid on a house and that an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles.
The raid near the town of Khan Younis was part of an Israeli air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched in late June after militants including Hamas gunmen abducted an Israeli soldier in a cross-border attack.
Abu Daqqa is a well-known Hamas leader in southern Gaza. Family members identified the dead brother as Youssef Abu Daqqa (50).
In separate violence, the army fired a tank shell at two men near the border fence in southern Gaza late last night, wounding one who was taken to hospital, witnesses said.
The army said the men were crawling along the ground near the border fence in a suspicious manner and were fired on.