Israeli airstrike kills two Hamas militants in Gaza

Saturday, October 2nd 2004, 11:37 am

By: News On 6

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) _ An Israeli helicopter struck a car on a Gaza City street on Saturday, killing two Hamas militants, witnesses and a Hamas official said, as the military expanded one of its largest offensives against Palestinian militants in four years of fighting.

The two slain men were Mehdi Mushtaha and Khaled Amreet, members of Hamas's military wing, the Hamas official said. Four bystanders were wounded in the attack.

Witnesses said an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at their car as it drove through an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City. Ambulances rushed to the scene as smoke billowed out of the car that was up in flames.

Israel often targets and kills in missile strikes Palestinian militants.

Saturday's strike was the latest violence during an Israeli military offensive in northern Gaza launched after Palestinian militants fired a rocket at an Israeli town that killed two preschoolers.