Israel kills three Palestinians in Gaza raid

The Israeli army kept up pressure in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, killing three Palestinians as forces sealed off the Palestinian territories for the Jewish holiday season in Israel.

The deaths took to eight the number of Palestinians killed in Jabalya since Israeli tanks entered the refugee camp late on Wednesday in what the army calls an operation against militants.

Five of those killed have been civilians and medics say over 100 Palestinians have been wounded during the raid.

Israel's largest operation in the area in months is the latest chapter in military reprisals for suicide bombings that killed 16 people in Israel last week.

The holiday restrictions come on top of already tight limits on Palestinian movement, including within the territories, which are riddled with army checkpoints and roadblocks.

Tensions have been heightened by the army's move in northern Gaza, an operation it says is aimed at stopping militants from firing makeshift Qassam rockets into southern Israel. Two such rockets landed in Israel yesterday.

Over the past three days, Israeli forces have surrounded two towns and thrust into the first line of houses in Jabalya, Gaza's most populous camp with 100,000 inhabitants.

Three Palestinians, including a militant and a teenager, died in Jabalya yesterday from tankfire. Military sources said troops targeted gunmen launching anti-tank rockets at forces.

The Hamas militant group confirmed that one of its militants had tried to fire an anti-tank rocket before he was shot dead.

Israel's army killed 14 Hamas fighters at a Gaza training camp on Tuesday in its deadliest strike against the Islamic group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction.

That led Hamas, which carried out the double suicide bombing in the Israeli city of Beersheba on August 31, to vow revenge.

Citing the threat of Palestinian attacks, the army said it had imposed "general closure" on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a strict travel ban expected to stay in place for several weeks.

Military officials said restrictions would cover the three-day Jewish New Year holiday, which starts on Wednesday, and could be extended through the Yom Kippur fast day 10 days later and the week-long Sukkot festival, that begins on September 29.

Such measures have become routine for major holidays, when Israelis gather in synagogues or for outdoor festivities, since the start of a Palestinian uprising four years ago.

Israel says the ban, which bars entry of Palestinians into the Jewish state, is meant to guard against suicide bombers.