Israel strike kills Reuters camerman

An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip has reportedly killed 11 Palestinians after a Hamas attack which left three soldiers dead.

Five children are among those killed by the strike near Bureij refugee camp, doctors say, and a Reuters cameraman was killed, apparently by a tank shell.

Confirming the Bureij strike, Israel said it had targeted gunmen.

In all, 22 people were killed on one of the bloodiest days since Israel's Gaza incursions in February-March.

At least 100 people were killed during those operations which Israel launched after Palestinian rocket attacks on its territory.

Medics told the BBC that five people were also injured by the Israeli air strike near Bureij.

DAY OF BLOODSHED IN GAZA
An Israeli helicopter launches a missile towards the Gaza Strip on 16 April
Children among 11 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strike near Bureij
Three Israeli soldiers killed near Nahal Oz
Four Hamas militants killed by Israeli troops east of Gaza City
Reuters cameraman and two bystanders killed by blast
One man killed on air strike on car near Beit Lahyia

Most of those killed were civilians, Hamas and medical officials said.

According to Hamas, Israeli helicopters launched four missiles.

Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana, 23, was killed along with two bystanders after he got out of a vehicle marked "TV" and "Press" in central Gaza, the agency reports.

Film recovered from his camera shows an Israeli tank opening fire several hundred metres away, Reuters adds.

It goes blank about two seconds after the shell is fired - apparently at the moment of impact.

Local residents said earlier he had died in an Israeli air strike.

Four Hamas militants were also killed by Israeli troops east of Gaza City early on Wednesday.

An air strike on a car also killed one Palestinian near Beit Lahyia, in the north of the strip.

Earlier on Wednesday, three Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded when Hamas gunmen approached the security fence near the Nahal Oz crossing, the army said.

The soldiers were killed as they pursued two Hamas fighters who had planted a bomb. They were ambushed by a second Hamas group lying in wait, the military said.

Hamas said it had mounted a "sophisticated ambush".

Israel's military losses were its biggest single toll in the area since 2006.

It is hard to say whether the recent spike in Israeli military casualties is down to more effective tactics by Hamas or simply the result of increased Israeli activity in Gaza and therefore increased exposure, says BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson.

A recent Israeli study by a research group with close ties to Israel's defence establishment said Hamas was currently engaged in the broadest and most significant military build-up in its history.

Some generals argue a major Israeli incursion will eventually be needed to prevent Hamas growing even stronger militarily.

But they also fear the possible consequences of a lengthy campaign in the crowded cities and refugee camps of Gaza, our correspondent says.