Israel seals Gaza borders after army incursion kills 12

The Israeli army sealed off Gaza and the West Bank last night to prevent attacks by militants until after polling in tomorrow's elections.

The move came hours after the army had ended its incursion into Gaza City, its deepest into the territory for more than two years, leaving 12 Palestinians dead and 67 injured. Palestinian sources said that in a separate incident, a boy aged seven was killed by Israeli army fire and his five-year-old brother wounded in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. The killing was not confirmed by Israel.

Earlier, helicopter gunships, tanks and armoured vehicles swept far into Gaza City for the first time since the current uprising began. A seven-hour night-time operation met pockets of fierce armed resistance. Palestinian leaders were swift to condemn the incursion as a move by Ariel Sharon's Likud government to shore up support in the Israeli general election.

The armed column destroyed metal workshops and other businesses in what the defence ministry said was an attempt to disable the production of rockets and mortars. Hamas militants fired 10 Kassam rockets from the Gaza Strip on to the Israeli desert town of Sederot on Friday.

After Israeli forces withdrew at about 5am, four other rockets were fired from Gaza at Sederot and three other communities in the Negev desert. No injuries were reported in either attack. In the separate incident, the two boys were reported to have been shot as they played near a military outpost.

As the military announced that it was completely sealing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the Defence Minister, Shaul Mofaz, said the option of "taking control of the Gaza Strip" was still being considered in the wake of "an increase in attempts by terror organisations to carry out attacks". Such a move, if it was to be made, would place heavy demands on military resources, probably requiring the call-up of reserve troops.

Several of the bereaved relatives and wounded in Gaza City confirmed that the casualties had included gunmen resisting the incursion. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a leader of Hamas, declared as some 30,000 attended the funerals of the 12 men: "The Israelis will pay a heavy price for every drop of blood shed last night. Our battle will continue until we uproot this Zionist occupation from our holy land, no matter what the sacrifice."

An opinion poll published yesterday indicated that the Likud party remains comfortably ahead, projected to win 30 seats in the 120-member parliament, compared with 19 for the opposition Labour party.

Arab leaders at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos pleaded for a new US-led push to resolve the conflict.