MIDDLE EAST: EXPLOSION NEAR TEL AVIV

Jerusalem, 29 Sept. (AKI) - A suspected car bomb explosion in a town south of Tel Aviv has killed at least one person, possibly a suicide bomber, Israeli rescue services say. The explosion occurred around 2 pm local time on Friday, the website of daily Haaretz reports, in the coastal town of Rishon le-Tsiyon. Six people were wounded and others are being treated at the scene, ambulance officers said. Israeli army radio said it appeared that someone may have blown himself up inside the vehicle, but there was no independent confirmation of that.

Two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza strip earlier on Friday. Eyewitnesses in Gaza report that two men were killed in an Israeli air strike on the Beit Hanun neighbourhood.

The Israel Defence Forces said helicopter gunships fired missiles at two gunmen spotted collecting rocket launchers which are used to fire Qassam rockets at Israel.

Israel has sharply stepped up security throughout the country and in the occupied West Bank in recent days, in the run up to the Yom Kippur holiday, this weekend.