By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Israel has stepped up military action against Hamas since it claimed responsibility for a Palestinian suicide bombing on Monday, the first such attack by the Islamist faction inside the Jewish state since 2004.
Hamas, the ruling Islamist group, said five of its gunmen were killed fighting the Israeli troops. Another gunman, from Islamic Jihad, also died in the clashes, it said.
Two of the wounded were initially identified as fellow staff members but the Education Ministry later said all three were pupils aged 16.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops had fired on a Palestinian rocket crew spotted inside Beit Hanoun.
The military spokeswoman confirmed there had been an incursion in Jabalya and said forces withdrew after a few hours.
"If rocket fire from Gaza continues we will intensify our operations ... until the salvoes end," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in remarks aired by Army Radio.
Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June when it routed secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has revived peace talks with Israel. Hamas refuses to give up its fight against the Jewish state.
