Israeli army ends Gaza camp raid

By Alan Johnston
BBC correspondent in Gaza

Some 30 Israeli tanks were involved in the latest raid

The Israeli army has ended its latest search operation in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

The troops pulled out after destroying a tunnel which they said was used by Palestinian militants to smuggle weapons in from Egypt.

Army raids in Rafah in May led to the deaths of more than 60 Palestinians and bulldozers destroyed many buildings.

The United Nations says that nearly 4,000 people were left homeless. Israel says that number is exaggerated.

Israel says it only destroyed buildings that were linked to militant activity.

Tunnel blown up

The latest operation lasted just over 24 hours.

Up to 4,000 Palestinians were left homeless in Rafah, the UN says

Initially, some 30 Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved in and took control of two of Rafah's southern neighbourhoods.

These lie close to the Egyptian border and the army said it had come looking for tunnels. It believes militants use them to smuggle weapons in from Egyptian territory.

The army said a tunnel was found during the search. It said it was dug from a courtyard of an abandoned house and that it ran some 250 metres under the frontier.

The troops blew it up and moved out of Rafah - a stronghold of militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad - a few hours later.

Palestinian fighters had put up some resistance during the operation. They detonated two roadside bombs and at first there were exchanges of fire.