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Source: Reuters -
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Combat between Israeli troops and Hamas militants raged on as Israel pressed home its a ground assault in Gaza in the face of French-led diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire.
The offensive will go on until communities in Israel were safe from Hamas rocket strikes, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.
But Hamas said militants were justified in attacking Israeli schools and synagogues in response to the Israeli onslaught, in which about 530 Palestinians have been killed in 10 days.
The death toll in besieged Gaza mounted on Monday. Victims included three children and their mother when a tank shell hit their home in Gaza city, Palestinian medics said.
Seven members of another family were killed in an explosion at the Beach refugee camp.
The Israeli army said "many dozens" of Islamist fighters had been killed since ground troops went in on Sunday in a stated attempt to end rocket fire by Hamas into southern Israel.
"Hamas has so far sustained a very heavy blow from us, but we have yet to achieve our objective and therefore the operation continues," Barak said in broadcast remarks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to arrive in the region later on Tuesday in a diplomatic push for a truce, which Israel has so far resisted.
A Hamas official said a delegation from the Islamist group would head for talks in Egypt, which has also opened contacts to achieve a ceasefire.
But senior Hamas political leader Mahmoud Zahar urged Hamas forces to fight on "in the name of God".
"They legalised for us knocking down their synagogues when they hit our mosques, they legalised for us knocking down their schools when they hit our schools," he said in a speech.
Hamas "must lay the foundation for a tomorrow without Zionists," he said.
Blasts rocked Gaza overnight after Israeli soldiers moved into a northern zone. Israeli forces told residents to leave their homes to avoid being hurt. Dozens of families sought refuge in United Nations run schools.
A military spokeswoman said the air force bombed more than 30 targets, including homes of Hamas members used as weapons depots, tunnels and a suspected anti-aircraft rocket launcher.
Israeli media said troops were hunting Hamas members in house-to-house combat and that during one clash Palestinians attempted to capture a soldier. The military said six soldiers were wounded in fighting overnight but gave no further details.
Israel launched its offensive with aerial bombardments on December 27 to curtail Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza before an Israeli national election next month.
At least 527 Palestinians have been killed, at least a quarter of them civilians, a UN agency said.
Four Israelis have been killed by rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel since the offensive began and an Israeli soldier was killed in fighting on Monday and 48 were wounded after the Israeli invasion.
Israel's advances into Gaza have carved the 40-km long coastal territory into two separate zones and forces have surrounded its largest urban area, Gaza City
Diplomatic push
Hamas was sending representatives to Egypt for talks for the first time since the fighting began, said Hamas's Ayman Taha.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, looked all but sidelined by the pending transfer of its presidency, offering Europe a chance to take the lead.
The Bush administration has supported Israel, saying Hamas must halt rocket fire at Israel for a truce to take shape.
Sarkozy, who meets Israeli leaders on Tuesday, has not let the end of France's European Union presidency last week prevent him from taking a vanguard role, but will share the work with a separate delegation led by the Czech foreign minister.
Before heading for Egypt for talks, to be followed by meetings in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Sarkozy said he "condemned this offensive" for distancing chances for peace and making it harder to get aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Gaza residents were in dire need of food, medical supplies and other aid but the hostilities were hampering relief efforts, aid agencies said. Freezing cold is compounding the misery of children caught in the conflict.
"The situation in Gaza...has become both chaotic and extremely dangerous," the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a situation report.
A plan to evacuate foreigners from Gaza was abandoned when officials decided it was too dangerous for their bus to cross the border, a diplomat said.
World protests
As part of any halt to the fighting, which has led to protests across the world, Israel is seeking international help to bolster security along Gaza's border with Egypt to prevent Hamas from rebuilding tunnels and rearming.
"It is clear Hamas cannot be allowed to rearm and we have to find workable solutions to prevent that rearming. And here our international and regional partners have a role to play," said Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman.
Iranian-backed Hamas is estimated to have about 25,000 fighters. Israel has not disclosed how many troops are involved in the operation but thousands of reservists were on stand-by.
Hamas called off a six-month truce last month and stepped up rocket attacks, citing Israeli raids and a continuing blockade of the enclave Israel quit in 2005.
Heavy civilian casualties in the territory packed with 1.5 million people could increase world pressure on Israel to halt its biggest military operation in Gaza in four decades.
The fighting holds political risks for Israeli leaders before an election next month if its forces suffer heavy casualties.
Global oil prices jumped to a three-week high on Tuesday after an Iranian military commander called for an oil boycott over the Israeli offensive.
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Post new commentfarhatmirza said on 2009-01-21 @ 09:43 NZDT: Report abusive post
Dear Sir/Madam, If and when the information is declassified, it may come out that the connection between 'shoe-treatment' of G.Bush in Iraq and, the carnage if not the genocide that followed in Ghaza, was not, after all, the figment of ones imagination. Regards, fjm
sheildzee said on 2009-01-20 @ 19:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
Please report accurately. Hamas did not "seize control of Gaza from Abbas's Fatah forces in 2007 ...". You rightly state that Hamas won the general election so Hamas did not "seize" anything. Your point about Fatah is superfluous anyway so just stick to the facts - " Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people in democratic elections held in 2006." That is the truth. The power struggle that followed the democratic election of Hama is another issue entirely.
flyer said on 2009-01-19 @ 16:50 NZDT: Report abusive post
Whew, a ceasefire of sorts - obviously the protest of the southland cafe owner against Israeli women has brought everyone to the negotiating table - AS IF.....
farhatmirza said on 2009-01-19 @ 11:42 NZDT: Report abusive post
Dear Sir/Madam, To say that Israel funded Hamas looks improbable, if not ridiculous. However, I won't be surprised if Hamas took a cue of two from Hagana, Irgun, or Lehi. Regards, fjm
philipmcc said on 2009-01-19 @ 10:01 NZDT: Report abusive post
I feel sad enough about the Gaza protagonists each claiming that they are the 'good guys' and the others are the 'bad guys', and the suffering that creates. But as I read these comments I see the same human tendency being acted out. So many claim that their view is 'right' and the others are 'wrong'. This stance is a major factor in all conflict. While that fear-based tendency persists we will go on having wars like Gaza.