Three Palestinians killed in explosion in a car in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) _ An explosion Saturday in a black Mercedes near Gaza City killed three Palestinians, a hospital official and witnesses said. <br/><br/>Israeli tanks and helicopters were in

Saturday, July 10th 2004, 10:45 am

By: News On 6

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) _ An explosion Saturday in a black Mercedes near Gaza City killed three Palestinians, a hospital official and witnesses said.

Israeli tanks and helicopters were in the general area, but the nature of the blast in al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City not far from the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, wasn't clear.

The Israeli army said one of its helicopters had fired a warning shot in the area of Palestinian gunmen shooting at soldiers, but not at any car.

Israeli forces and Palestinians had been clashing in the Netzarim area in the hours before the explosion.

The army said Palestinians had fired two anti-tank missiles and sprayed machine gun fire at Israeli soldiers near Netzarim, but that nobody had been injured.

Later, Palestinian medical sources said a medical worker was shot in the stomach and wounded.