Two Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on Gaza Strip, over 100 reported killed in past month
Mahmoud Shaath, 24, was killed by a shell fired by an Israeli tank and Ibrahim Shaluf, 18, died when he was hit by a rocket fired by a helicopter.
Eight other Palestinians were injured, two of whom were in a critical condition, the sources added.
Around 40 tanks and a number of bulldozers penetrated up to one kilometre inside the camp, situated close to the Egyptian border.
A tank fired two shells and soldiers opened fire while two assault helicopters circled overhead before one of them fired a rocket towards the camp, the sources said.
The deaths bring the toll to 3,122 killed since the start of the intifada in September 2000. The figure includes 2,345 Palestinians and 719 Israelis.
Four Israeli soldiers were slightly hurt during the operation when their armoured vehicle overturned after the explosion of a remote-controlled device, Israeli military sources said.
More than 100 Palestinians, including 26 children, were killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in March by the Israeli army, the Palestinian health ministry said in a report.
"Some 101 people were killed, including 26 children, and 638 wounded during this period," the report said.
The ministry said sanitary conditions were "deteriorating" in the Palestinian territories. The West Bank has been almost entirely reoccupied by Israeli troops for months.
The ministry also warned against the "exploitation by the Israeli government of the international situation to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people," in an allusion to the US-led war on Iraq (news - web sites).
The statement also complained that Palestinian hospitals, medical centers and ambulances had been targeted by Israeli soldiers, or during Israeli operations in the occupied territories.
It called on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) to pressure Israel to respect international conventions.
On March 31, the US State Department released its global review of human rights practices for 2002, where it noted that Israel's human rights record in the territories was "poor" and that among its "serious" abuses were the killings of civilians during military operations aimed at Palestinian extremists.
The Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) was also criticized for its human rights record as well as failing to curb deadly anti-Israeli attacks, including on civilians.
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