UN team rescued after Gaza kidnap

The UN staff were freed soon after their abduction

Palestinian gunmen in Gaza briefly seized two UN workers and their driver before security forces broke into their hideout and freed the hostages.

The gunmen stopped the United Nations vehicle in the town of Khan Younis, where a string of such abductions has taken place before.

Security officers exchanged fire with the kidnappers during the rescue.

The hostages - including a Briton and a Swiss - were freed unharmed, but the gunmen escaped, security sources said.

The hostages - a woman and two men - all work for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa.

The foreigners were identified as Steven Karl from Switzerland and Christine Blunt from the UK.

It was the third time that foreigners had been abducted in Gaza in recent weeks.

The incident happened a day after security forces arrested a top commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant organisation in Khan Younis.

It is likely the gunmen wanted to use the foreigners as bargaining chips to secure the commander's freedom, says BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza.

As Israel readies for its evacuation of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority needs foreign help to tackle the territory's many severe economic, social and other problems.

But if the abductions continue, our correspondent says, aid agencies may become increasingly wary about sending international staff into the territory.