Five Palestinians die in Israeli raid

Israeli forces backed by tanks and bulldozers raided a Gaza Strip town early today, killing at least five Palestinians, among them three militants, in fighting with gunmen, Palestinian officials said.

The invasion came hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to continue targeting militant Palestinian leaders, following the weekend assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi.

Israeli troops and tanks moved into Beit Lahiya early today, near the scene of fighting the previous day and surrounded a housing project.

Bulldozers began demolishing a partially built building, witnesses said, while gunmen exchanged fire with troops. Three militants and two unidentified Palestinians were killed. Thirteen others were wounded.

Israeli Apache helicopters periodically fired on the area, which is often used by militants as a launching ground for home-made missiles they lob at nearby Jewish settlements.

Since Rantisi’s assassination on Saturday, militants have launched barrages of rockets and mortar shells at the Israeli communities, wounding at least one person and damaging several structures.

The barrage of homemade rockets – 15 over two days – was one of the largest in months.

An explosion jolted the Gaza Strip later today, shaking jittery residents as Israeli forces conducted the raid in northern Gaza. But witnesses said the explosion was caused by a sonic boom.