Israeli troops engaged in heavy gun battles late Monday with Hamas fighters in Gaza City for the first time since the start of the army's ground offensive, military sources and witnesses said. Large explosions and heavy exchanges of fire rocked Shejaiya neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City as Israel pressed its campaign to halt Hamas rocket attacks.
Hamas said in a statement that its fighters had fired missiles at seven tanks in the same district. The Islamic Jihad movement said several of its members were killed in the fighting.
Israeli military sources confirmed that troops were involved in heavy clashes in that area.
Fifty Palestinians -- including 12 children -- were killed in the Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the head of the territory's emergency services told AFP. Israeli fire killed a mother and four of her children in Gaza City after a rocket hit their house, medics said.
The official, Muawiya Hassanein, said 555 Palestinians have now been killed since the start of Israel's offensive to halt Hamas rocket fire on Dec. 27. He added that 2,700 people have been wounded in air raids and tank shelling. |