Fighting During Israeli Raids Leaves 5 Dead

Israeli forces raided a West Bank city and a Gaza Strip refugee camp Thursday, setting off battles that left four Palestinian gunmen and a soldier dead.

Israeli forces backed by tanks and jeeps entered the West Bank city of Hebron before daybreak and surrounded a one-story building where Diab Shweiki, the Islamic Jihad leader in Hebron, and his deputy, Abdel Rahim Talahmeh, were hiding, the army and Shweiki’s relatives said.

A fierce gun battle followed, and the two were killed.

Also Thursday, Israeli forces surrounded a house in the Boureij refugee camp in central Gaza. The military said the goal was to arrest a local Islamic Jihad leader, Jawad Shahin.

Palestinians shot, threw grenades and fired an anti-tank missile, killing a soldier and wounding six others, the military said. Two Palestinian gunmen were killed, but Shahin escaped.

The military action came as Israel grounded reserve pilots who condemned airstrikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as “illegal and immoral” Thursday, and refused to carry them out.

Palestinian medical officials say more than 100 bystanders have been killed in Israel’s airstrikes aimed at extremists.

The Israeli public, traumatized by a Palestinian suicide bombing campaign that has killed hundreds since 2000, largely supports the targeted killings.

The declaration by 27 pilots, including nine on active duty, was widely criticized in Israel as subversive.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Dan Halutz said the nine active pilots could face suspension and military jail. He said they are a tiny minority among thousands of pilots. Hundreds of other pilots began circulating declarations supporting their commanders.