GAZA CITY, May 30: Three Palestinians, all armed Hamas militants, were killed and seven other Palestinians wounded in an Israeli helicopter raid in Gaza City overnight, Palestinian security forces said on Sunday.

Among those killed were local heads of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, Wahel El Nasser and Mohammed al-Sarsur, both aged 30. They were killed by a rocket as they rode a motorbike in Gaza City's Zeitun district.

A third activist, Madi al-Madi, 18, died when another rocket hit his home. His wife was among those injured. The al-Qassam Brigades responded by vowing to wreak revenge for the "three assassinations".

A senior leader of Hamas said that Nasser and Sarsur were behind a series of high-profile attacks on Israeli targets, including a double suicide attack in the southern port town of Ashdod which killed ten Israelis. -AFP