Mourners carry bodies of Palestinians killed in a raid by Israeli forces on the occupied-West Bank city of Nablus, during their funeral procession on Wednesday. AFP

Israel and Palestinians traded air strikes and rocket fire in and around Gaza on Thursday, a day after the deadliest Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years.

Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed and more than 80 wounded by gunfire on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, when Israeli troops raided the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, drawing international appeals for calm.

Top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh described the raid as a "massacre" and called for "international protection for our people."

Before dawn on Thursday Palestinian group hits back, firing six rockets from Gaza into Israel. The Israeli army said it intercepted five of them and that the sixth struck an uninhabited area.

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Palestinian group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rockets after it called on "resistance forces" to respond to the "major crime" in Nablus.  The group said one of its commanders was killed in the West Bank raid.

Two hours later, the Israeli military launched air strikes on multiple targets in Gaza, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said the "immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation." "The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is at its most combustible in years," he said.

Hospital 'covered in blood'

The Israeli army said Wednesday's raid had targeted a "hideout apartment" used by suspects implicated in shootings in the West Bank. It said one of the wanted suspects was "neutralised," along with two other people who opened fire on troops.

Both sides "exchanged fire" and rockets were also fired on the house by the army, spokesman Richard Hecht said.

A demonstrator waves flags as a protest against Israeli military raid in Nablus on Wednesday. AP

Hamas said there were four gunmen killed, one from its own ranks, and hinted at possible reprisals from the Gaza Strip, a territory that it controls.

Sirens rang out early on Thursday morning in southern Israeli towns as the military confirmed six rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israeli territory. Shortly afterwards, explosions were heard in Gaza and the military confirmed it was striking targets in Gaza but did not give more details.

The Palestinian health ministry said those killed in Nablus were aged between 16 and 72. Hours after the raid, the ministry announced the death of Anan Ennab, 66, from tear gas inhalation. He had been in the market when the Israeli incursion began, his brother Allam Ennab said on Thursday. "What happened yesterday in Nablus was a real massacre, like I've never seen before," the 68-year-old said.

Palestinian health officials said 82 people were treated for gunshot wounds. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics also treated 250 cases of tear gas inhalation.

The wounded include Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Al Khatib, who was shot in the hand, a colleague told AFP.

Talaat Ziada, the head of the intensive care unit in Nablus's Rafidia hsopital, said his youngest patient was an 11-year-old boy shot in the stomach and leg. "It was a war zone in the Old City, and it was also a war zone here," he said. "The corridors and stairs were covered in blood, and people were scrambling to check on their relatives."

Wednesday's death toll was the highest since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, ended in 2005.

Palestinian shops were closed on Thursday in annexed east Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, including Nablus, after a general strike was called in protest at the violence.

Agencies