Israeli troops in Gaza dig in, kill 2

GAZA: Israeli forces dug in across a swathe of the northern Gaza Strip and killed two Palestinians on Friday following the bloodiest day of fighting with gunmen since 2004.

Witnesses said tank fire killed one man near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, scene of the worst violence on Thursday, when 19 Palestinians and a soldier were killed. An Israeli air strike also killed a Hamas militant early on Friday.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard around Beit Lahiya. Some residents said they wanted to leave but were too scared and called on international organizations to get them out.

The army pushed deep into northern Gaza on Thursday, taking over ruined settlements that Israel abandoned last year, in an offensive launched with the aim of bringing home a captured soldier and halting rocket fire into the Jewish state.

The incursion has piled more pressure on the Palestinian government of the Hamas Islamist militant group, already reeling from a Western aid embargo. Any lingering hope that peace talks could be revived has been dashed by the violence.

"What is happening on Palestinian land is a crime against humanity," said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, a group sworn to destroy Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered tanks deep into Gaza after Hamas militants fired rockets into a major Israeli city for the first time. The offensive began last week with the main goal of winning the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, captured in a raid from Gaza on June 25.

"The terrorists have paid a heavy price so far," Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Dan Halutz said.

Despite taking over what amounts to a buffer zone inside Gaza, Israeli officials say there is no plan for long term re-occupation of territory given up last year after 38 years of military rule.

Hamas accuses Israel of using Shalit's abduction as a pretext to topple its elected administration. Israel has detained more than a third of Haniyeh's cabinet and hinted it could assassinate Hamas leaders if Shalit is killed.

A poll in the Maariv daily on Friday showed 82 per cent of Israelis believe the Jewish state should kill Hamas leaders in response to the crisis in Gaza.

Senior Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri said such sentiments would backfire.

"The Israeli people will be sacrificing themselves if they push their leaders toward escalation because whoever shares in the crime against our people will one day pay for it," he said.

Also on Friday, the UN food agency called on Israel to provide "permanent and unhindered access" for aid workers and relief goods to Gaza, where Palestinians face increasing shortages.

A World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman said that despite some improvements after calls to Israel to let aid flow, the frequent closure of the key Karni crossing and Israel's military operations were hampering efforts to help civilians.

"We are asking for permanent and unhindered access for humanitarian personnel and relief goods to Gaza whenever we need it. We think there needs to be a complete de-linkage between the political environment and humanitarian needs," WFP spokesman Simon Pluess told a news briefing in Geneva.

The WFP said the Karni crossing was open for three days out of the last six, allowing it to bring sugar and oil into Gaza. It hoped to bring wheat flour in on Sunday.

Source: China Daily