Two Palestinians have been killed in an exchange of gunfire between Israeli forces raiding a north Gaza town and Palestinian fighters.

According to witnesses, several other people were wounded by an Israeli air strike, also early on Saturday morning.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the reports.

Witnesses said the forces, backed by helicopters, entered the town of Bait Hanun and engaged in heavy clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters. Israel began a major offensive in Gaza after fighters captured a soldier in a cross-border raid on June 25.

Younis Abu Odah, a resident, told local media that bullets fired during the gunfight came through his house and killed his 54-year-old father and 27-year-old brother, and wounded two of his sisters. He appealed for medics to take them to hospital.

Rescue prevented 

Ambulances have so far been unable to reach the area to confirm any deaths or evacuate the wounded due to the heavy gunfire.

Three more Palestinians, including two children, were wounded by flying shrapnel from an Israeli air attack in another part of the town, medics said.

Israeli troops have in recent years frequently carried out incursions in Bait Hanun to try to stop Palestinian fighters, who have often launched rockets into Israel from the town's outskirts.

Israel has killed more than 200 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, during the offensive in Gaza. It pulled out of the territory last year after 38-years of military rule.