GAZA CITY, January 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Israeli helicopters fired three rockets Sunday, January 12, at a car in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, killing two teenage bystanders in a day in which 5 other Palestinians and one Israeli were killed.

Medical sources identified the teenagers victims as Mohammad Kawara, 14, and Abdullah al-Najar, 15, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Israeli sources initially said they "hit three wanted men" in the town of Khan Younis, BBC’s online service said.

The rockets were aimed at a taxi, reportedly carrying two members of the Islamic resistance group Hamas, but the two activists occupants had time to flee the vehicle, and the rockets instead killed the two teenagers riding their bicycles nearby, Palestinian witnesses said.

The Israeli army is refusing to comment publicly on the incident, BBC said.

The Israeli staged their largest raid into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Intifada 27 months ago when more than 80 armored vehicles, backed by helicopters, moved deep into Khan Yunis overnight, killing two Palestinian, wounding 16, and destroying several homes and workshops.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was deploying the army to divert attention from corruption allegations that are damaging his re-election campaign, BBC said.

1 Israeli, 2 Palestinians killed

In occupied Jerusalem, two Palestinians who shot dead an Israeli in a resistance attack in northern Israel Sunday were killed by Israeli security forces, a local police chief told public radio.

An Israeli was killed Sunday when Palestinian gunmen attacked a northern village close to the West Bank, public television reported.

The attack took place in Moshav Gadish, a farming community five kilometers south of the Israeli town of Afula, and only 10 kilometers north of the city of Jenin, AFP said.

The deaths bring to 2,850 the number of people killed since the beginning of the Intifada against the Israeli occupation in September 2000, three quarters of them Palestinians.

Israel Kills Two Palestinians, Injures 16

Two unarmed Palestinians were killed and 16 others injured during two Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip overnight, hospital sources said Sunday.

Ali Zaher Nasser, an unarmed 45-year-old civilian, was killed when an Israeli armored unit rolled into the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Troops there also dynamited the home of an Islamic Jihad activist who had died in a sea attack against an Israeli patrol boat in November.

Israeli troops also killed two Palestinians which military sources claimed infiltrated Israel from Egypt Sunday, adding that an Isreali soldier was also injured in the clashes.

In West Bank, a Palestinian was shot dead near Hebron as scores of tanks backed by helicopters raided the city of Jenin.

Late on Saturday night, Abdel Latif Wadi, 22, was killed when another Israeli unit pushed into a Khan Yunis village from both flanks, Palestinian sources said.

Residents said he was unarmed, but was shot by Israeli soldiers when another man threw a home-made grenade at the Israeli unit.

Palestinian security sources said a third Israeli unit, comprising some eight armored vehicles, moved into the village of Al-Qarara, in the same autonomous Palestinian area.

Israeli U.S.-made helicopter gunship backed up the troops on the ground, firing at Palestinians, leaving 16 people injured, residents said.

An Israeli military source confirmed the operations, claiming the troops had come under fire.

Escaping financial scandal

Meanwhile, Palestinians accused Sharon of escalating his military incursions against them in order to boost his electoral fortunes, which have suffered from various financial scandal and corruption accusations.