December 2, 2002	Monday	Ramazan 26,1423

BEIT LAHIYA (Gaza Strip), Dec 1: Israeli troops raided a Palestinian-ruled town in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing two people and destroying a three-storey apartment building in an operation to raze the family homes of militants, witnesses said.

Residents of Beit Lahiya said 30 armoured vehicles, backed by three helicopter gunships, rumbled into the town late on Saturday and cut it off from Gaza City, seven kilometres away, before leaving about three hours later.

Gunmen crouched in graffiti-covered alleyways, bobbing up to fire at the Israeli forces. Crowds of unarmed men cheered them on from a safe distance.

Hospital officials said a 32-year-old man had died in a neighbourhood which had seen fighting and 20 other local people had been wounded.

The body of an elderly Palestinian was found under the rubble of one of the three homes demolished by the Israeli forces, residents said. They speculated he had not heard the army call over loudspeakers for people to vacate their homes.

Israeli military sources said such demolitions can deter militants from attacking, as they know their kin will suffer.

—Reuters