Israeli helicopters strike targets in Gaza
Military attacks Palestinians after two children killed
JERUSALEM (CNN ) -- The Israeli military said it launched multiple helicopter attacks late Wednesday on Palestinian militants in northern Gaza, including targeting offices that Israel said housed a group that funds terror attacks.
The attacks came after a Palestinian Qassam rocket hit a street in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. A 2-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother were killed, Israeli media said.
At least 15 others were wounded, the Israeli military said; Three of the wounded are in serious condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The rocket was believed to have been fired from northern Gaza by Palestinian militants. The Qassam is a primitive, homemade rocket with a range of up to six miles (nearly 10 kilometers).
In Beit Lahaya, near the Jabaliya refugee camp north of Gaza, two members of the Palestinian National Guard were killed in a helicopter attack, Palestinian security sources said. The Israeli military said it targeted Palestinian militants who were attempting to fire a Qassam rocket.
The Israeli military said it also fired on three Palestinians near the camp who it said were laying explosives. The extent of casualties in that strike was not immediately known.
Palestinian sources said a Israeli helicopter targeted the social work office of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza City. One person was slightly wounded, a hospital source said.
"The IDF is determined to act against any terrorist infrastructure and those who support its activities while ensuring the safety of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers," the Israel Defense Forces said.
Palestinian sources: 6 killed in clashes
At least six Palestinians died Wednesday in incidents involving the Israeli military in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian sources said.
Palestinian security sources said Israeli forces shot at a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank city of Jenin. The driver and a 55-year-old man were killed and three people were wounded, among them two girls, age 12 and 9.
According to Israeli military sources, there was intelligence information that wanted Palestinians were traveling in a taxi in Jenin.
The Israeli troops ordered the taxi to stop, the Israeli military sources said, and when it did not, they fired warning shots into the air.
In Gaza, according to Palestinian security and medical sources, Israeli tanks moved into an area between the Jabaliya refugee camp and Beit Lahiya early Wednesday.
Four Palestinians were killed in the gunfire, they said, adding that two of those killed were children.
Israeli military sources reported two Israeli soldiers were wounded by mortars fired by Palestinians in northern Gaza.
CNN's Talal Aburahna in Gaza City contributed to this report.
