At least four Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli fire. Israeli soldiers on guard along the border with Egypt spotted three armed Palestinians approaching from the outskirts of the town of Rafah. The soldiers shot and killed the three, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. In another incident earlier, one Palestinian was killed in an explosion near the Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam, also near the border with Egypt but closer to the coast, Palestinian medical sources reported. The army said soldiers guarding the settlement saw a man entering a no-go security area around the settlement with an explosive device, which blew up prematurely in his hands 200 metres from the settlement's fence. WAFA confirmed that Muhammad Saadi Juma'a, 22, from Tel Sultan, west of Rafah, was killed. In the afternoon, Israeli helicopters fired three missiles toward the Rafah refugee camp, and witnesses reported that several people were injured. Meanwhile, the Israeli army intends to widen the flashpoint corridor it controls in southern Gaza Strip along the Egyptian border and raze dozens or even hundreds of Palestinian homes in the area, Israeli political sources said on Friday. The plan to expand the route was approved on Thursday at a high-level meeting attended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and other senior officials. An Israeli political source said the army intends to destroy "dozens or perhaps hundreds" of homes and widen the 9-km long buffer zone once soldiers complete a search in the area for the remains of their comrades blown up two days ago. Indeed, Israeli bulldozers Friday began demolishing buildings in the Rafah refugee camp. Witnesses said bulldozers had demolished 10 houses and were threatening many more in the camp. On his part, Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the plan as a "total contradiction" to what Sharon has presented as a "disengagement" initiative to reduce points of conflict with Palestinians. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinians carry belongings as an Israeli armored bulldozer demolishes a house next to the border with Egypt, in the Rafah refugee camp southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 14, 2004. (AP)