Jerusalem: Within hours after two suicide bomb attacks in Tel Aviv killed at least 23 people and wounded 100 others, Israel Air Force hit back with its Apache helicopters firing missiles at a target in Gaza City.

The Apache helicopters fired missiles on January 5 night, which hit two Palestinian Authority offices and a building in the market, Israel Radio reported.

There were no reports of casualties in the attack and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had no immediate comment.

Reports from Gaza quoted local residents as saying that there was a build-up of Israeli armed forces and helicopters overhead in the Southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah.

The raids came within hours after two suicide bombers blew themselves up within less than a minute of one another, at the corner of G'dud Ha'ivri and Neve She'anan streets near Old Central bus station in South Tel Aviv. Many of the victims are believed to be poor foreign workers.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, took responsibility for the attack.

In a statement claiming that it was behind the bombings, the group identified the two bombers as Nablus residents Burak Hilsa and Samar A-Nuri.

However, in a fax sent later to CNN on the group's letterhead, the group denied all responsibility.

PTI