The Israeli military says it has taken about 80 Palestinians to Israel for questioning following a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

Four Palestinians, including at least three militants, were killed in the incursion on Sunday morning. An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the army had a "free hand" to target militants in Gaza.

He faces growing pressure to put an end to rocket attacks from the territory.

Israel and the Fatah faction of Palestinians - in charge of the West Bank - are pursuing a renewed peace effort launched at a US-hosted conference last November.

Israel has shunned any engagement with the Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, and has continued security operations against militants there.

Raids and incursions have killed scores of Palestinians over past months.

Incursion

Backed by aircraft, Israeli ground forces entered Gaza early on Sunday on a mission that the military said was targeted at the Gaza "terror infrastructure".

Palestinian health officials said more than 20 people, including civilians, were injured in subsequent clashes before the Israeli forces withdrew in the afternoon.

The latest operation comes as Prime Minister Olmert faces mounting domestic pressure over rocket attacks.

Israeli officials say more than 700 rockets and shells have been launched from Gaza since the beginning of 2008, and last week an eight-year-old Israeli boy lost most of his leg in an attack.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli soldiers guard Palestinian detainees captured during an operation in the Gaza Strip, 18-02-08.