Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed "deep regret" Tuesday at the deaths of a Palestinian mother and her four children during an Israel Air Force strike in Gaza Monday morning.

Defining what had happened as a "tragic event," Olmert was quoted as telling ministers at the start of a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that "we regret the fact that civilians are being hurt here, and we regret the fact that Hamas is operating from within populated areas, exposing them to outcomes we do not intend to reach."

"We are also sorry for our own children, who have been getting hurt for many years now," he added.

The mother and four children from the Abu Mo'tiq family were killed as Israel was attacking militants firing at troops during an operation in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Strip.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Right said shrapnel from an Israeli missile, which killed a gunman at the doorway of the Abu Mo'tiq home, penetrated the building, killing the children and fatally wounding the mother.

The Israeli army said it believed explosives carried by one of the gunmen hit in the strike set off a secondary explosion, which killed the family.

Final results an on investigation the army was carrying out would be released shortly, a military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv said. (dpa)