They named the latest fatality, killed in a pre-dawn raid on the central Gaza Strip town of Deir el-Balah, as Mohammed al-Ghamry, 26, and said that four others were wounded there.

The Israeli raids came as Palestinians fired dozens of rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel, injuring four people, one seriously, Israeli military sources said.

One Israeli strike, on a car travelling in the Tel El-Hawa neighbourhood west of Gaza City, killed the head of the militant Popular Resistance Committees, Zohair al-Qaisi, and fellow member Mahmud Hanani, the group said. The PRC threatened retribution for Qaisi's death.

The attacks came in response to Palestinian mortar and rocket fire which started on Friday morning. The Israeli military said that since then about 40 rockets and mortar rounds had landed in southern Israel.