Helicopter gunships, backed by tanks and ground troops, tightened their grip on Beit Hanoun, said by the Israeli army to be a base for militants launching rocket attacks into Israel, with 300 fired from the northern town in recent months.

In response, the Palestinian President urged the US to intervene to stop the raid, which has so far killed 12 Palestinians in total, including seven militants, as well as an Israeli soldier.

Today helicopter gunships sent missiles hurtling into the town, while about 50 tanks patrolled and other tanks fired several rounds from the other side of the Israeli-Gaza border.

Snipers took up position on at least a dozen rooftops, while other troops carried out house-to-house searches for weapons and militants.

Men between the ages of 16 and 40 were ordered over loudspeakers to gather in one of the town’s main squares, but few complied according to reports.

However, other witnesses said that around 60 militants were holed up inside the town centre, with army helicopters circling overhead. They also reported a number of residents being loaded into trucks by soldiers, who took them to the edge of the town for questioning.

The Israeli army, which began the raid yesterday, said it wanted to interrogate the men to detain those connected to militant activities.

“I have no doubt that the vast majority will then be allowed to return home unhindered,” said an Israeli army spokeswoman “ This is intended to avoid friction and reduce shooting incidents.”

The raid crippled the town of 50,000, with curfews imposed on some areas, and residents of others apparently too afraid to venture from their homes.

Palestinian militants responded by firing homemade rockets from elsewhere in Gaza, with one hitting a house in the Israeli border town of Sderot, lightly injuring one person, according to the army.

Hamas fighters claimed responsibility for the attack, with the group’s armed wing also claiming its gunmen had hit a group of Israeli soldiers with an anti-tank missile. The army said it had no information, reported Reuters.

Amidst the clashes, two civilians were believed to have been killed, with relatives saying that one of them was 75-year-old man shot by troops on a rooftop as he went onto the balcony of his home to take his disabled son inside.

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