How many times have you heard Israel say that the civilians were killed by mistake and it is investigating

well they are saying it again
as Israeli forces have carried out
further raids on the Gaza Strip,
killing three Palestinian civilians in
an air strike. Militant group
Islamic Jihad said the air strike
was aimed at its men, but missed the target.

The Israeli military says civilians were killed
by mistake and it is investigating.

The latest attack takes the number of
Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza to more
than 20 in the past two days.

Medical workers said those killed on Wednesday
afternoon were all from the same family and
included a teenage boy.

Earlier, Israeli troops in the West Bank killed
a senior figure in Islamic Jihad's military wing.

Hamas, the militant Islamist group which is Gaza's
de facto ruler, said Israeli military actions in the
last two days have scuppered a possible prisoner
exchange between an Israeli soldier held by
Hamas and Palestinians held by Israel.

Its Damascus-based leader in exile,
Khaled Meshal, said it also jeopardised
an informal ceasefire Hamas has
adopted since 2005.

"I tell the... enemy: What you are committing will
deprive you of anything you're betting on. There
will be no exchange involving Gilad Shalit, no calm or
nothing of this sort," Mr Meshal said at a
news conference.

"Palestinian blood being spilt by you will be your curse.
It will not bring you security. It will not prolong the
existence of your entity," he added.

Palestinian blood being spilt by [Israel] will
be [Israel's] curse. It will not bring you security

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal

Military leader

Earlier, Israeli troops killed Islamic Jihad commander
Walid Obeidi during an exchange of fire in the West Bank
village of Qabatiya, near the northern town of Jenin,
officials and witnesses said.

Two of his bodyguards were wounded and arrested,
the group said.

The Israeli army said its troops had attempted to arrest
Mr Obeidi, described as the head of the armed wing o
f the radical movement in the West Bank.

He refused to surrender and was killed in an
exchange of fire, the military said.

The violence comes after Israeli and Palestinian
Authority negotiators began talks on Monday on
core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - borders,
Jewish settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

The Palestinian Authority said Israel's military action was a "slap in the face" to US President George W Bush, who visited the area last week to promote peace talks.

Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility for a heavy
rocket barrage aimed at the Israeli town of Sderot on
Wednesday, but there were no reports of injuries.