United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has condemned the killing of Palestinian civilians during an incursion by Israeli forces into the Rafah refugee camp.
Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, including an eight-year-old boy, in a raid in the Gaza Strip yesterday while mediators struggled to resolve a Palestinian leadership crisis.
Mr Annan said the "disproportionate use" of force in heavily populated areas was incompatible with international law, and called on both sides to take all necessary measures to avoid harming civilians.
Accusing militants of trying to acquire anti-aircraft missiles, Israel sent dozens of tanks backed by helicopter gunships into the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border for what it said was a search for arms-smuggling tunnels.
Troops fought fierce battles with gunmen in the largest army raid in months into the militant stronghold, which followed a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 20 people Saturday in the Israeli port city of Haifa.
In the West Bank, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat made his first public appearance in three days, attending Friday prayers in an apparent attempt to dispel rumors he might have had a heart attack or is suffering from stomach cancer.
His doctor said he was in good health and recovering well from a stomach ailment. Arafat, long a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, looked pale but showed no sign of strain as he bowed and kneeled in prayer at his Ramallah compound.