An Israeli helicopter airstrike killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip and Hamas militants seriously wounded an Israeli in a rocket attack as violence in the Middle East escalated today.
The Israeli was hit as he walked near a school in the town of Sderot, close to the Gaza border, a hospital official said.
Hours later, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip, killing two and wounding three, Palestinian medics said.
The Israeli military said it launched the strike after the militants fired a rocket at Israel.
The killing of the Hamas militants was the first by Israel since the ruling Islamist group ended a 16-month truce on Friday after seven Palestinians were killed in a Gaza beach attack that Hamas blamed on the Jewish state.
Since ending its truce, Hamas has fired around two dozen rockets and several mortar rounds into Israel, mostly towards the town of Sderot. The attacks have rarely caused injuries.
In response, Israel has fired artillery shells into Gaza, the coastal strip it pulled out of last year after 38 years of occupation, and carried out several airstrikes, killing at least 12 Palestinians, including militants, Palestinian medics say.
Palestinian militant groups frequently fire makeshift rockets towards Israeli towns, but Hamas's rockets are considered more powerful and accurate than those of other groups, hence the concern in Israel at Hamas ending its truce.
There has been a marked escalation in violence in the past three days, with Hamas threatening a resumption of the type of attacks it has spearheaded against Israel since an uprising began in 2000, including suicide blasts and car bombings.
"We have decided to turn Sderot into a ghost town," Hamas said in a statement on Sunday. Hamas, which took over the Palestinian government in March, is formally sworn to Israel's destruction and has said negotiations with Israel are pointless.
The United States and European Union, which consider Hamas to be a terrorist organisation, have said that the group must recognise Israel's right to exist, cease attacks and abide by existing peace agreements if it wants to be accepted.