Israeli Navy Kills 4 Palestinian Divers

Israel's navy killed four Palestinian militants in diver suits off the coast of Gaza early today in the first violence at sea since a deadly raid against an international flotilla last week. Military officials say an attack on Israeli targets was prevented when a naval force spotted Palestinians in diving suits and opened fire.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades—a violent offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction—said the four men killed were members of its marine unit who were training in Gaza's waters. Four bodies were retrieved and taken to a hospital in central Gaza, according to a Palestinian health official. The Palestinian naval police said two people were still missing. (More Gaza stories.)