At least three Palestinians were killed and 15 others injured on Tuesday morning when Israeli Apache helicopters fired three missiles at Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.

The witnesses said an Israeli army unit backed by at least 30 tanks, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers stormed Rafah refugee camp in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Israeli snipers seized the roofs of several buildings in the camp, while tanks fired several shells and Apache attack helicopters hovered over the area, they added.

Medical sources at Abu Yousef el-Najjar in Rafah said a group of people were gathering near one of the local clinics in the refugee camp when being hit by an explosion.

Three were killed on the spot and 15 others were injured, four of them seriously, the medics said.

The Israeli army said that the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb planted by Palestinian militants in one of the streets in the refugee camp.

Palestinian security sources and witnesses confirmed however that the casualties were a result of Israeli tank shells and helicopter missiles.

The Israeli army said the aim of its operation in Rafah was to destroy underground tunnels suspected to be used by Palestinians for smuggling weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2004)