950819

Bomb explosion

hurts Israeli

in Gaza

JERUSALEM: A bomb wounded an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, an Israeli army spokeswoman said.

"A soldier was lightly wounded today as the result of an explosion of a bomb while a force was on operations on a road between Khan Younis (Palestinian village) and Gush Kativ (Jewish settlement block)," she said.

The spokeswoman said Palestinian police began "operating" on their side of the area after the blast, presumably searching for attackers.

The blast came a day after Palestinian police captured three militants of the militant Islamic group Hamas in an operation that involved a clash in which Palestinian troops and civilians were wounded in Gaza City.

The three militants had holed up in a house. More than 1,000 civilians tried to prevent the police from capturing the militants, one of whom had been sought for more than a week on suspicion he intended a suicide attack in Israel.-Reuter