Israel launches helicopter strikes

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli army launched helicopter attacks early Sunday on Palestinian targets in Gaza in what it said was a response to the killing of an Israeli soldier and repeated mortar attacks on Israeli civilians in the area.

The attacks came soon after apparent Palestinian mortar attacks killed one Israeli soldier and injured two others in Gaza, and one day after thousands of Palestinians vowed to avenge the death of a top Hamas military leader in an Israeli helicopter attack Friday.

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Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a navy police outpost in Sudania in northern Gaza; a Palestinian military intelligence outpost in Khan Younis in southern Gaza; and the district offices of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.

An Apache helicopter fired five missiles that destroyed the Palestinian Navy headquarters in Sudania, navy sources said.

Palestinian sources said Israeli tanks fired in Khan Younis and entered Area A, a region now under Palestinian control. They did not have information on fatalities or injuries in either location.

The attacks came amid heightened tensions in the Palestinian territories after the death of Mahmoud Abu Hunud, leader of the Hamas military wing. Israel confirmed that its helicopters attacked a taxi carrying Hunud, another Hamas member and a third Palestinian.

At a Hamas rally in Gaza on Saturday, protesters demanded revenge and political leaders suggested Israel and its supporters, namely the United States, bore responsibility for the killings.