Israeli tanks backed by helicopter gunships moved into the edges of a refugee camp in southern Gaza this evening, witnesses said, after militants blew up five Israeli soldiers in their armoured vehicle.
Witnesses said helicopters fired two missiles into vacant areas of the Rafah camp, near Gaza's border with Egypt, as a column of about 15 tanks rumbled in firing heavy machinguns.
There were no immediate reports of Palestinian casualties.
The militant group Islamic Jihad said its fighters blew up the Israeli vehicle in the second deadly blow to the Middle East's strongest army in as many days.
Israel's Channel 2 television said the army sent forces streaming into the area to protect the rescue of wounded soldiers and the recovery of bodies.
Fearing further Israeli reprisals, dozens of families fled their homes on the edges of Rafah, a militant stronghold.
Residents said the air strike knocked out electricity in the area.
Six Israeli soldiers were killed and five were wounded today when an explosion hit an army vehicle in south Gaza, Arab television Al Arabiya has reported.
An Al Arabiya correspondent in Gaza said 10 Palestinians were also wounded in the blast, caused by a landmine.
"Six Israelis were killed and five wounded...some of the Israeli soldiers' remains were scattered 400 to 500 metres in this camp (Rafah)," correspondent Saifeddin Shaheen said.
The militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the explosion, which came one day after miltants killed six Israeli soliders in a troop carrier in a Gaza City