Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in raids across the Gaza Strip today, Palestinian medics said.
An Israeli shell killed three Palestinians near a rocket launcher in northern Gaza shortly after two makeshift rockets were fired into Israel, damaging a water pipe and a building.
Palestinian residents and witnesses said the three were teenage shepherds.
An Israeli military spokesman said the three had been tampering with a rocket launcher when they were fired on.
Earlier, a woman (35) died after soldiers stormed a house belonging to a member of the Hamas militant group near the southern town of Rafah.
Israeli troops also killed a man (24) in Rafah. An Israeli military source said that troops had returned fire after gunmen shot at them from a house.
Rafah is where Israel believes a soldier abducted by gunmen in a June 25th cross-border raid, Corporal Gilad Shalit, might be held.
The raids followed an increase in rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel, including two fired at the town of Sderot early today, which caused no casualties.
Israeli forces have mounted several major operations in Gaza since Shalit's capture, killing more than 215 Palestinians, including civilians. Israel left Gaza last year after 38 years of occupation in what it called a bid to defuse violence.