Israeli raid kills Gaza militants

More than 20 Gazans died in Israeli military action in the last week

Three members of the militant group Hamas have been killed in an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say.

The raid targeted a Hamas position in the coastal town of Deir al-Balah.

It brought to more than 20 the number of people killed in Israeli military action in Gaza in less than a week, most of them Hamas gunmen.

Israel says it is responding to security threats, including the regular firing of rockets into its territory.

The dead were all members of Hamas's armed wing. One was killed instantly and the other two died of wounds in hospital, medical officials said.

The Israeli military has been ordered to widen its actions in Gaza, reportedly to include manned Hamas positions as well as militant infrastructure and the rocket crews themselves.

Hamas, winner of the 2006 parliamentary elections, took control of the Gaza Strip in June after days of gun battles with the rival Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank.