Israel strikes hard at Gaza militants

In the day's deadliest attack, an Israeli helicopter fired four missiles at targets near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, witnesses said. At least 12 Palestinians, including five children aged 12 to 15, were killed, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed while filming Israeli tank movements, apparently in an air strike in the same area. Two bystanders also died.

Other cameramen who rushed to the scene said they saw the Reuters jeep on fire and Shana's body lying next to it. They said that his jeep was marked "press," and that Shana was wearing an identifying flak jacket.

As colleagues rushed toward the cameraman, another missile was fired, said Wissam Nassar, a photographer with the Maan news agency.

"There was an air strike," Nassar said. "We were thrown back, myself and another person."

Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger called for an investigation into Shana's death. The Israeli military did not confirm its forces hit the journalist.

In separate Gaza clashes, five other Palestinian militants were killed, Palestinian officials said.

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority condemned the "Israeli aggression in Gaza" and urged all sides to "cooperate with Egyptian efforts to reach a truce to halt the bloody cycle of violence." Abbas, who is visiting Moscow, has talks scheduled with President Bush in Washington next week.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the violence cast doubt on Egyptian cease-fire efforts. "There can be no discussion of a truce in the midst of these crimes," he said, threatening revenge against Israel.

Also yesterday, Palestinian militants ambushed an Israeli ground force in northern Gaza, killing three soldiers, the military said. The soldiers entered Gaza in pursuit of two Hamas militants who planted a bomb near the border and were ambushed by another Hamas force, Israeli defense officials said.