KISSUFIM, May 2: A Jewish settler and her four children were killed on Sunday in a Palestinian attack in the Gaza Strip. The five were shot dead in their car by Palestinian gunmen, two of whom were subsequently gunned down by Israeli soldiers.

"A cell of probably two terrorists positioned themselves near the Kissufim road that leads to the Gush Katif (settlement) bloc," an army spokesman said. He said a first civilian vehicle had been hit, causing "an Israeli to be seriously injured."

"Seconds after, a second vehicle with a woman and four children came under attack by the same cell and were all killed," he said. The army spokesman said an explosive device was detonated against an army post just after the attack, "probably to postpone the arrival of soldiers at the scene," he said.

He said soldiers did manage to get to the scene where they "killed the two Palestinian terrorists," adding that two soldiers were lightly wounded during the exchange of fire.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said the attack could "simply be labelled a massacre of innocent children." The Islamic Jihad group and the Popular Resistance Committees, a loose alliance of Palestinian armed groups, both claimed responsibility for the attack.

But Pazner blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Hamas, charging they were attempting to prevent Sharon from pressing on with his unilateral "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip. "Arafat and Hamas will spare us no horror in trying to stop the political process from going forward," he said. -AFP