Palestinian witnesses say five people, including a four-year-old boy, have been killed and at least 28 others injured in the Gaza Strip, after Israeli troops carried out separate raids.
Palestinian doctors say the child was killed when his home collapsed, after Israeli troops blew up a house nextdoor in the town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt.
The Israeli army says troops discovered tunnels for smuggling weapons in two abandoned houses and demolished them.
The force of the blast was so strong it brought down the walls of nearby homes, and wounded at least 28 other people.
In other violence today (Sunday), a Palestinian was shot dead in Rafah as Israeli troops undertook searches in the area, using tanks and bulldozers. At least four others were wounded by gunfire in the incursion.
Israeli soldiers also shot dead two gunmen trying to penetrate the Israeli farming community of Moshav Yevul after apparently crossing the border from Egypt.
The two were reportedly from the Abu Rish faction of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's Fatah movement.
Israeli forces also killed a woman and injured two others when a tank fired on her taxi in the northern West Bank.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Israeli army lifted curfews on the Palestinian-towns of Tulkarem, Ramallah and Jenin.
The move comes after media reports that the Bush administration wants Israel to withdraw its troops from more West Bank towns to help ease the living conditions of Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to meet with President Bush Wednesday in Washington. Mr.Sharon says withdrawals depend on Palestinian security forces making sure that Palestinian militant groups halttheir attacks against Israel.