The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees has said that more than 1,000 people have been made homeless by recent demolitions carried out by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip.
Israel says the move is aimed to expanding a buffer zone along the border with Egypt.
The southern Gaza town of Rafah has also been the scene of missile attacks by Israeli helicopter gunships, after a week in which 13 Israeli soldiers and about 30 Palestinians were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has discussed events in Gaza with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, at a meeting in Jordan.
