Israel retaliates after suicide bomb attacks

Israeli forces have shelled targets in Gaza City and the West Bank city of Ramallah in retaliation for a series of bombings.

Israeli military officials said it was hitting specific targets in the Palestinian territories, aimed at the "elements responsible for terror."

The latest attack, by a suicide bomber, killed two Israeli teenagers and the bomber.

In Gaza, Israeli helicopter gunships hit Palestinian police positions in Gaza City and in Deir Al-Balah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Before the shelling, officials evacuated the main Palestinian Authority headquarters building in Ramallah, saying that the Israeli military warned them to leave, signaling an impending attack.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called his security Cabinet into special session minutes before the Israeli offensive began.

Sharon had been under growing pressure to respond to the wave of Palestinian attacks, which included two bombings in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

There were no further details about the targets the Israelis were hitting in the two cities, which are governed by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority under the terms of peace agreements.

After the suicide attack, Sharon charged that Arafat was responsible for a wave of attacks by militants against Israelis in recent days.

The militant Palestinian group Hamas claimed responsibility for the suicide attack at Sdeh Hemed, on the line between Israel and the West Bank, releasing a videotaped recording made by the alleged suicide bomber before the attack.