Gaza City: Israeli troops raiding a Hamas stronghold exchanged fire with dozens of armed Palestinians on May 1, and doctors said six Palestinians, including a toddler and a 13-year-old boy, were killed in the fighting.

The target of the raid was the home of Yousef Abu Hein, a top Hamas fugitive, in the Shijaiyah neighbourhood in Gaza City. Over loudspeaker, soldiers called on all members of the large Abu Hein clan to leave their buildings.

The incursion came a day after Hamas carried out a suicide bombing in a Tel Aviv pub and a new peace plan, the so-called "roadmap" to Palestinian statehood, was presented to Israel and the Palestinians by Mid East mediators.

In the first phase of the plan, the Palestinians are to crack down on militants, while Israel is to withdraw from Palestinian towns and freeze settlement construction.

The May 1 incursion began at about 01:50 hours (04:20 hours IST) with tanks, jeeps and undercover troops surrounding several apartment buildings belonging to the Abu Hein clan.

Dozens of gunmen rushed to the area, exchanging fire with Israeli troops. Intense fighting continued into the morning. Israeli troops fired tank shells and heavy machine guns, including from helicopters, while gunmen used assault rifles.

Dr Fadel Abu Hein, a prominent child psychologist and a brother of the wanted man, said his four-story apartment building came under intense fire. "We are sitting in full darkness. Children are screaming. We are trying to calm them down, but bullets are coming from all directions," he said.

Six Palestinians were killed, including two boys, ages two and 13, according to doctors at Gaza's Shifa Hospital.