The Palestinian cabinet has declared a state of emergency in the territories as violence continued in the Gaza strip today.
Yasser Arafat has called on the international community to intervene to stop the latest Israeli assault.
A senior Hamas leader was killed when a rocket fired by an Israeli helicopter hit a vehicle in the Gaza Strip. Witnesses said a missile slammed into a car with two Hamas militants inside and both were killed.
Earlier seven people, described as militants, were killed by Israeli soldiers in and around the northern Gaza Strip.
In another development, another Palestinian was killed when Israeli warplanes fired a missile into the Jabalya refugee camp.
This brings to 56 the number of Palestinians killed since Israeli forces moved into the area earlier this week.
Nearly 200 tanks and armoured vehicles seized control of three and a half square miles of territory.
The strike began after a rocket attack killed two Israeli toddlers in a border town on Wednesday.
