Israeli forces have killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza, while a rocket launched from the strip has killed an Israeli man and wounded another in southern Israel.

The Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire on Wednesday.

The group said it had launched more than 20 rockets at Israel, including eight at Sderot, the town where the deadly strike took place.

The rocket barrage came hours after an Israeli air assault killed five Hamas members and injured several others in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

A Hamas statement said: "The bombardment came in response to the Zionist massacre committed this morning in Khan Younis which led to the martyrdom of five of our best fighters."

Palestinian officials said two people, including a civilian, were killed in a second Israeli air raid carried out at the time of the rocket attack.

An earlier air raid killed an al-Quds Brigades member and injured two others in east Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's armed wing, said its fighters had clashed with Israeli special forces trying to sneak into the strip.

Israeli helicopters intervened and fired two missiles at the Palestinian fighters.

Separately, a Palestinian farmer was killed near Kisovim crossing in southern Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli undercover forces killed one man and wounded and detained four others, a Palestinian official said.

Rocket attack

Israeli media said the rocket exploded in a car park at Sapir College. Israeli officials said a student, about 30-years old, was fatally struck in the heart by shrapnel.

Israeli TV stations showed a second man being carried on a stretcher with wounds to his legs.

David Baker, a spokesman for Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said: "Israel will be diligent in our efforts to put an end to these lethal rocket attacks. Those firing rockets at our civilians will know neither rest nor have any respite from the measures we will take to stop these attacks."

The latest violence was likely to fuel calls for a large-scale ground offensive in Gaza. Olmert has so far resisted such action, saying it would cause heavy casualties on both sides.

Chlorine shortage

In addition to its military strikes, Israel has imposed tough economic sanctions on Gaza, which have caused widespread shortages of basic goods.

On Wednesday, the area's main water provider urged residents to boil all drinking water, citing a dire shortage of chlorine as a result of the blockade.

The Coastal Municipality Water Utility made the announcement in radio and newspaper advertisements.

It said there was a "major concern over a health disaster due to possible contamination of the drinking water" and appealed to the international community for help.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian carry the body of militant Omar Abu Akar during his funeral in Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al-Jazeera