Israeli armoured vehicles mass near Gaza-witnesses

GAZA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Dozens of Israeli armoured vehicles massed at the border with Gaza on Tuesday and a military spokesman ordered Palestinians to evacuate an area close to the frontier with Egypt, witnesses said.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the reported deployment, occurred hours after Israeli troops killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on the Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces have carried out several raids in the Gaza Strip since the capture on June 25 of a soldier in a cross-border raid, some in response to rocket attacks by militants on southern Israeli towns.

More than 270 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, about half of them civilians.

Witnesses said Israeli armoured vehicles had been deployed close to the border with the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

A military spokesman jammed the frequencies of three local radio stations including that of Islamic Jihad militants, to broadcast a message urging Palestinians to evacuate Rafah's border with Egypt, witnesses said.

Several Israeli naval boats moved closer to the Gaza coast, the witnesses said.

Israel, alleging that militants have stepped up arms smuggling into Gaza near Rafah, sends in troops periodically to try to find and destroy tunnels beneath the border and underground hideouts.

Israel withdrew its army and Jewish settlers from Gaza last year after a 38-year occupation but tension has risen on the frontier since the Islamic militant Hamas movement came to power after winning Palestinian elections in January.

Israeli soldiers killed three gunmen in Khan Younis in a gun battle earlier in the day, ambulance crews and doctors said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said that troops raiding a militant hideout had fired at gunmen who tried to plant a bomb.

There were signs of movement on efforts to arrange a prisoner exchange for the release of captive Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit, and two other soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon in July.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for talks amid conflicting reports about progress on a possible prisoner exchange involving freedom for Palestinians jailed in Israel and Shalit.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group was in indirect negotiations with Israel through a U.N.-sponsored mediator over a prisoner exchange.

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