""It was Monday night, about 10:30 in the evening," said the officer from the Palestinian security forces who lived in the house with his two wives and 19 children.

"I received a call with the number of the caller hidden. I thought it was a prank by one of my mates. I asked, 'Are you joking?' and got the reply, 'The Israeli army doesn't make jokes.' Then the caller hung up."

So Mr. Mamluk rounded up his children and took them to his brother's house before alerting his neighbours, who then set up barriers on the road outside to stop cars or pedestrians entering the area.

"They hit 25 minutes later," he said. "I'd expected an Apache [attack helicopter] but not an F-16 fighter jet."

Israeli aircraft have dropped thousands of flyers on the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, warning people all sites and buildings where weapons or military equipment are stored will be bombed."