In the Bethlehem clash, Palestinian officials quoted men inside the Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's holiest sites, as saying Israeli forces had blown the back door off, but the army denied the report.
A correspondent about 500m from the church heard gunfire and loud explosions, but could not say what caused the blasts or where the firing was aimed.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said: "Israeli soldiers did not fire any weapons or cause any explosions or storm the church."
Bethlehem resembled a ghost town, where fearful residents peeked from their windows at Israeli tanks and armored vehicles lurking in streets littered with debris and mangled cars.
Peter Qumri, director of a hospital in the nearby town of Beit Jala, said Samir Salman, 45, had been shot dead as he crossed Manger Square on his way to the Church of the Nativity yesterday.
Qumri said ambulance workers had retrieved seven bodies since troops stormed into Bethlehem on Tuesday, adding that he believed at least five more cor-pses remained to be collected.
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