ISRAELI troops killed at least thirteen Palestinians in Gaza City yesterday in gunbattles that erupted during what Israel called a raid to root out militants behind attacks on Jewish settlements.

The deadliest Israeli strike into Gaza for six weeks came amid signs of unease among Israel?s military over a shock announcement by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week that he planned to pull all the settlers out of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian witnesses said soldiers backed by tanks rolled into the Shijaia neighbourhood of the densely packed city around dawn, opening fire and drawing a response from gunmen in the militant stronghold.

Medics said nine Palestinians, including five gunmen, one policeman and three civilians were killed. Some 24 were wounded. Ambulance sirens wailed as gunmen fired assault rifles towards Israeli tanks, which returned heavy fire. Among the dead were a senior activist of the Hamas faction, at the forefront of suicide bombings during three years of conflict, and the 17-year-old son of a leader of President Yasser Arafat?s Fatah movement.

The violence dealt a fresh blow to hopes of reviving talks on a U.S.-backed peace plan and Hamas militants urged suicide bombings on Israel in revenge. Israel?s army denied opening fire on police and said Palestinian ?terror cells? had attacked with anti-tank missiles, bombs and gunfire. The army said it hit at least 10 gunmen. It said its operation ?aimed to thwart continued mortar and missile attacks at Israeli targets?.

Gaza withdrawal questioned

Sharon stunned friends and foes alike last week when he announced a plan to evacuate nearly all the 7,500 or so settlers who live in heavily-protected enclaves among some 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel seized the Gaza Strip and West Bank, where Palestinians want a state, in the 1967 Middle East War. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted by the Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday as saying the removal of settlers from Gaza would not necessarily mean a full military withdrawal and the army might keep some areas as ?bargaining chips?.

Israel?s military intelligence chief cautioned lawmakers on Tuesday that Palestinian militants would see Sharon?s proposal to evacuate Gaza settlements as a ?victory for terror?.

Some US officials also said they were worried that unilateral Israeli moves to relocate Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip would boost the standing of Palestinian extremists. ?That would be a real big negative for President (George W.) Bush?s vision of two states living in peace and security because the Hamas vision is one state with no Jews in it,? one senior US official told Reuters.

The armed wing of Hamas urged revenge for Wednesday?s dead. ?Palestinian resistance is capable of teaching the enemy an unforgettable lesson in reaction to raids and killings,? Hamas political leader Sayed Seyam told Reuters. Hamas and another faction claimed responsibility for a Jerusalem bus bombing that killed 11 people the day after a raid on Gaza left at least eight Palestinians dead two weeks ago.

Some militants also called on the Palestinian Authority to cancel preparations for a meeting between Sharon and his counterpart Ahmed Qurie to discuss reviving the stalled US-backed peace ?road map?.

?Every time there are efforts to revive the peace process, Israel carries out such incursions,? Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Nidal al-Mughrabi