Girls killed in Gaza incursion

Northern Gaza has been wracked by violence in recent days

Two Palestinian girls aged four and 11 have been killed during an Israeli army incursion into the northern Gaza Strip.

A 16-year-old boy was also killed during a third day of clashes in Beit Lahiya, in which 16 Palestinians have died and at least 20 have been injured.

Military sources say troops, who have now withdrawn, launched the raid to stop rocket attacks into Israel.

In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian gunmen in Tulkarm in the West Bank.

The Israeli army said the three were members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militant offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.

Buildings destroyed

The teenage boy and 11-year-old girl were both killed by Israeli fire, Palestinian medical sources said.

The four-year-old girl died of tear-gas inhalation, Dr Mahmoud al-Assali, the director of Jabalya hospital in Gaza, told the Reuters news agency.

"Her skin had turned blue as a result of her inability to breathe and she soon died," he said.

Israeli military sources said three Israeli soldiers were reported wounded.

Israeli bulldozers have destroyed several houses and buildings in Beit Lahiya in the past three days.

A centre for handicapped people was among the buildings that was blown up, AFP news agency reported.

An Israeli army spokesman said the building was unoccupied at the time.

Increased tensions

Violence in Gaza has surged since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced unilateral plans to withdraw Jewish settlements from the coastal territory as part of his disengagement plan.

The recent killings of the Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi have also led to increased tensions in Gaza.

Analysts say Israel has stepped up its attacks ahead of the planned pullout so as not to allow Hamas to claim it as a victory for the resistance.

At least 15 Qassam rockets have landed over the boundaries of Gaza in recent days, injuring five Israeli civilians.

Although the focus remains on Gaza, Thursday's violence in Tulkarm follows a pattern of raids targeting local militant cells in the West Bank, correspondents say.