The Emir of Qatar has become the first head of state to visit Gaza since the Islamist group Hamas seized control five years ago. The visit reflects increasing ties between the Gulf state and the regime which is considered a terrorist group by the West. Lindsey Hilsum Channel Four Europe reports. By ReutersGAZA STRIP -- Israel killed three Hamas gunmen in Gaza Strip air strikes on Tuesday which the military said targeted squads preparing to launch rockets into the Jewish state.
The air force operations followed other Palestinian attacks, including a bomb blast that wounded an Israeli army officer patrolling the Gaza border, on a day that saw the isolated, Hamas-governed enclave receive its first foreign head of state, the emir of Qatar (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/23/14636490-emir-of-qatar-visits-hamas-ruled-gaza-strip-pledges-400-million?lite).
Israeli leaders had vowed retaliation for the morning bombing on Gaza's boundary fence, but Israeli television said military actions were put on hold until Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani had left.
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