Israeli forces blow up 'militant's house'

An Israeli military incursion in January left 12 dead

Israeli forces backed by tanks and helicopter gunships have blown up a house in a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing a woman, Palestinian officials said.

The house reportedly belonged to the family of Baha Saeed.

Mr Saeed - a militant in Yasser Arafat's Fatah organisation - was shot dead by Israeli troops in September 2000 after he killed two Israelis in an attack on the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.

Mr Saeed's stepmother, who relatives said was partially deaf, was crushed to death in the house after not heeding warnings to leave.

Three of his brothers were also detained during the operation early on Wednesday morning in the Maghazi camp, Palestinian security sources said.

At least one bystander was reported injured.

West Bank deaths

In more violence, one Palestinian policeman was killed and another injured in the West Bank town of Qalqilya.

Israeli military radio said that Israeli soldiers had opened fire when two Palestinian men they wished to arrest attempted to escape.

However, Palestinian sources said the two were shot as they left a police station during an Israeli military incursion.

In Nablus, a young Palestinian man was killed, witnesses and medics reported.

He was among a number of youths throwing stones at Israeli troops conducting searches, witnesses said.

However, an Israeli military source said he had been armed and had shot at troops in the area.

Israel's last major military incursion was 25 January, when about 50 tanks and armoured vehicles, backed by helicopter gunships, entered Gaza City, killing 12 Palestinians and wounding more than 50.