As the Palestinians were gearing up for crucial general elections in three days time, the Israeli airforce launched a strike near Gaza City, in what a militant faction claimed was a failed assassination attempt.
An army spokesman said troops had launched "an aerial strike" against gunmen near the Karni crossing with Israel.
The radical Popular Resistance Committees, however, said one of its leaders had been targeted, but instead, the raid had killed a 22-year-old passerby.
The strike, which raised to 4,935 the number of people killed since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, took place just three days before Palestinians go to the polls to elect a new parliament.
State of alert
Starting from 1700 GMT Monday, the Palestinian security forces are to be placed on maximum alert to ensure the vote proceeds smoothly, said Palestinian interior ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khussa.
Security forces were casting their ballots on Sunday for a second consecutive day in order to be free to protect polling booths during the main vote on Wednesday.
Officials have admitted the rampant chaos prevalent in Gaza poses a serious threat to a smooth ballot and perhaps the biggest headache to the elected administration.
About 13,000 police officers will be deployed around over 1,000 polling stations in the territories, and will also help enforce a blanket ban on weapons inside the voting centres.
"The measures will be strict and severe to prevent any show of violence on election day," interior minister Nasr Yussef told journalists in Gaza City.
"The risk (of violence) exists today and will until the votes are counted."
He said that Israel had promised to relax security measures to facilitate voting in the West Bank and that the details would be finalised "in the next 48 hours".
Abbas confident
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas expressed confidence that voting would pass off smoothly but said that the security forces had orders to deal with an iron fist with anyone who tried to wreck the poll.
"I have given all the security forces orders to deal with anyone who tries to make problems with an iron fist," he said after a visit to the central election commission headquarters in Ramallah.
"I know that there are people who have no interest in the democratic process, we will isolate them and prevent them from achieving their aims."
Meanwhile, jailed intifada leader Marwan Barghuti, who also heads the ruling Fatah party's candidate list, urged all Palestinians to vote and expressed hope the poll would bring about a broad-based reform government.
Speaking from an Israeli jail where he is serving five life sentences for anti-Israeli attacks, Barghuti said the elections were an "essential means of achieving freedom, return and independence".
After the vote, "we aspire (to see) a government of national reform with a broad parliamentary and popular base," he said in comments broadcast by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.
As hundreds of international observers kept a watchful eye on the security forces' ballot, Veronique De Keyser, head of the EU monitoring team, expressed confidence about Wednesday's vote.
"I have more and more the impression that things could go calmly," she said in Gaza City, while also voicing concern about Israel restricting the movement of Palestinian candidates.
Her comments came as police arrested another Hamas candidate campaigning in Jerusalem, a move outlawed by the Israeli government.
Hamas television
Hamas' newly-opened television station also suffered a blow on Sunday when the Palestinian public prosecutor decided to close it down for not having the necessary broadcast licence.
With polls showing Hamas significantly narrowing the gap with Fatah party, Israeli officials are acutely aware that militant Islamist faction, which has been behind most of the attacks on Israel, could cut Fatah out of power and even form the next Palestinian government.
Two months before Israel's own election in March, whose course could be radically altered by a Hamas victory, officials acknowledge that success for the Islamist faction would spell big problems at home.
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was expected to convene talks with senior political and defence officials to formulate an Israeli response to every possible scenario on Sunday.
But at Mr Olmert's insistence, ministers were advised to keep a low profile over "the sensitive issue" of the Palestinian elections, public radio reported, citing fears any public announcement could be seen as an attempt to interfere in the process.