Israeli army kills five Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli tank fire killed four members of a Palestinian family in the Gaza Strip yesterday, drawing vows of revenge from Hamas militants and fraying a security deal meant to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed regret for the army's killing of "Palestinian innocents" in an assault after midnight on the coastal village of Sheikh Ijleen and demanded the army investigate.

The attack killed a mother, two of her sons and their cousin as they slept in an outdoor courtyard of their home. The rounds sprayed thousands of dart-like flechettes, doctors said.

The army has fired flechettes in the past at suspected attackers in Gaza, though the targets have at times turned out to be civilians.

"When there are killings of Palestinian civilians, Israel can expect killings of its civilians," Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar told Reuters.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said in a statement it was "a deliberate crime" aiming to sabotage peace efforts.

Palestinian hospital sources and witnesses said also a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops at an army post on Gaza's border with Egypt. Israeli military sources said forces came under grenade and shooting attacks.

Israeli tanks fired shells towards the al-Hajeen family home, killing Ruwaida Al-Hajeen, 55, her sons, Ashraf, 23, and Nihad, 17, and a cousin, Mohammed, 20.

An army spokesman said troops guarding Netzarim opened fire in the Sheikh Ijleen attack, when they saw "suspicious figures" crawling in the direction of the Jewish settlement.

Netzarim and other settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have become frequent targets for Palestinian militants waging a 23-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation.

The attack raised new questions about the army's tactics just weeks after its probe into the killing of a Hamas leader found an intelligence failure led to the deaths of 13 civilians, including nine children, in an air strike on his Gaza home.

The July 23 strike sparked international condemnation and a new spate of suicide bombings by Hamas.