Israeli jets blast Palestinians in revenge attack

In the harshest retaliation yet for a Palestinian attack, Israeli F-16 warplanes rocketed security installations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after an Islamic militant blew himself up outside a busy shopping mall.

In all, 16 people died yesterday, one of the bloodiest days in eight months of fighting. Among those killed were the suicide bomber, five Israelis at the mall, nine Palestinian air raid victims and an Israeli motorist shot in a West Bank roadside ambush.