RAMALLAH, West Bank?Israel retaliated Monday for Palestinian shootings and bombings, killing 16 Palestinians including the wife and three children of an Islamic militant leader and a doctor whose ambulance was hit during rescue efforts.

Israel’s security Cabinet decided late Sunday to intensify military strikes after 22 Israelis were killed in four weekend attacks by Palestinian militants. Israeli troops raided two Palestinian refugee camps Monday, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his country was at war.

Israel’s military said the tank shells were aimed at a car carrying armed Palestinians and hit the civilians by mistake. In a statement, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed “regret at the loss of life of Palestinian civilians” as a result of the Israeli shelling.

In an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp, six Palestinians were also killed and 20 wounded, hospital officials said.