Israeli air raids on Gaza killed five Hamas militants on Saturday as the Jewish state warned the United Nations it will defend itself against Palestinian rocket attacks from the isolated territory.The first overnight raid, which killed two Hamas militants near Rafah at the southern end of the strip, was aimed at a police station used by Hamas, the head of Gaza emergency services, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said.
The second attack targeted another Hamas police base in the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the territory and killed three members of the Hamas-run paramilitary group that polices the territory, he said. The third strike was east of Khan Yunis and wounded two Palestinian militants from Islamic Jihad, medics said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the raids, saying "there were two aerial attacks against Hamas posts and one against gunmen approaching the (border) fence in the south."
Palestinian militants meanwhile fired 21 rockets at Israel, with one hitting a house in the hard-hit town of Sderot without causing any casualties.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday, Israel warned that it "will not remain idle while our citizens are constantly targeted by terrorist attacks. Israel will know how to defend itself."
Egyptians open border crossing
On Saturday, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing for the first time in months to allow hundreds of Gazans to leave for medical treatment. "We will transport 550 patients in 40 Palestinian ambulances and five trucks," Hassanein said, adding that the patients include 200 people wounded in Israeli military operations and 70 children under the age of 16.
Scores of weary Gazans gathered outside the terminal as black-clad Hamas gunmen paced through the crowds and kept onlookers away from the crossing.
"We hope Rafah will stay open like before. The health situation in Gaza is very serious. There is no medicine, nothing," said Mufid Habush, as he waited at the crossing with his five-year-old daughter. The little girl, whose leg was amputated because of a birth defect, was due to have an operation in Egypt.
Hamas said the crossing would be open for three days to allow the sick to enter for treatment and those trapped on one side or the other to cross back to their place of residence. "We hope this will be the first step towards permanently opening the crossing and breaking the siege," senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told AFP.