Israeli F-16 warplanes launched strikes against Palestinian Authority targets in the Gaza Strip for the third consecutive night.
Hospital sources said 17 people, including women and children, were slightly wounded in the raids.
An Israeli military source confirmed the raids and said they were aimed at "purely military targets in the southern part of Gaza City".
The F-16s fired two missiles on a non-identified target of the Palestinian security services inside the Gaza City headquarters of Yasser Arafat, which has been hit several times since December 3rd.
Earlier today six Palestinian policemen were killed when Israeli tanks raided a Palestinian self-ruled town on the West Bank, Palestinian sources said.
The death toll in the raids on Salfit rose to six when residents found the bodies of two more men in olive groves after Israeli tanks rolled out of the town at the end of a five-hour operation, the sources said.
The bodies were later identified as belonging to Mr Khaled Abu Yaacub and Mr Assaad Abu Ataya who, like the four first victims, belonged to the Palestinian security forces, the sources said.
The Israelis confirmed the raid during which it said "five armed Palestinians were killed and four wounded in the exchange of fire" during an operation targeting Salfit when gunmen "opened fire at IDF [army] forces.
"IDF infantry, tank, border police and special forces entered the town of Salfit," the army said in a statement, adding that four Palestinians were wounded in the clash. "Weapons were found in searches conducted by security forces," the army statement said.
US Middle East envoy Mr Anthony Zinni will announce today the next steps in US attempts to end Israel-Palestinian violence, State Department officials said today.
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon declared in an interview published today that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is "history".
Talking to the German paper Bild, Mr Sharon warned that Israeli soldiers could remain in Palestinian areas for a prolonged period of time "in order to maintain law and order." He saidl: "From now on Yasser Arafat is history".
AFP