Israeli troops in the West Bank say they killed a Palestinian militant.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had spotted an armed gunman in al-Ein camp near Nablus and opened fire.

Earlier, the Israeli air force also hit the homes of several senior Palestinian militants in Gaza, wounding at least one person.

On Wednesday, a wave of militant rocket fire from Gaza killed an Israeli woman in the Israeli town of Sderot and seriously wounded two men.

The dead Palestinian was identified as 25-year-old Muhammad Ahmedan. His relatives said he had been unarmed.

Phone warning

As they often do in Gaza, Israeli forces phoned the five houses beforehand to warn of the coming attacks.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the militants' homes were hit because they were being used to store weapons and to hold "terrorist meetings".

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Palestinian militants would pay a heavy price for the attacks.

The first Israeli helicopters struck the Shathi refugee camp outside Gaza City at just before midnight on Wednesday, hitting the home of a prominent member of the Popular Resistance Committees.

Shortly afterwards, similar attacks hit the homes of senior Hamas militants in the Jabaliya refugee camp and in Rafah.

At least one person was wounded in the first attack, Palestinian officials said.

'No solution found'

Palestinian militant groups fired two rockets into southern Israel on Thursday morning, one of which hit a kibbutz building, but there were no casualties

On Tuesday, militants from the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the town of Sderot. Two people were seriously injured in addition to the death of Fatima Slutsker, 57.

The Palestinians said they were retaliating for recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, including an artillery strike on Beit Hanoun last week that killed 19 civilians.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ruled out a major incursion to stop rocket fire, although he acknowledged it was more serious than usual.

"The rocket fire will not end with one blow. We are making all efforts and a lot of people are risking their lives. But the unequivocal way to stop it [the rocket fire] completely has yet to be found," he said.

Photo Caption

Funeral for slain Palestinian