THE END of the first day of Israel's ground offensive against Hamas left the Gaza Strip split into two yesterday, as the death toll after 10 days of fighting, rose to over 500.
Israeli forces swept from the Karni crossing to the Mediterranean coastline, cutting off Gaza city from the two main population centres in the south of the strip, Khan Younis and Rafah.
The long-expected incursion began on Saturday night, preceded by heavy artillery barrages to clear the path for the invading troops.
Thousands of soldiers, accompanied by tanks, entered Gaza at a number of locations as helicopter gunship provided cover fire.
By yesterday afternoon the Israeli forces had taken control of areas around Beit Lahiyeh and Beit Hanoun, in the north of the strip, from where most of the rockets were fired into Israel.
Hamas threatened to turn Gaza into an "Israeli graveyard", but last night the Israeli military reported one soldier dead and 30 wounded, one critically - a relatively small casualty figure bearing in mind that Palestinian militants had prepared for months to repel an Israeli invasion.
However, the Israeli forces have yet to enter the major built-up areas and the sprawling refugee camps, where many of the militants are believed to be in hiding.
Israeli officials rejected Hamas claims that nine soldiers had been killed and two kidnapped.
Dozens of militants were killed in clashes as the troops advanced. The Israeli army used overwhelming firepower to keep military casualties to the minimum.
Israeli officials warned of a prolonged military campaign. Tens of thousands of reservists have been drafted, mostly from combat units.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak denied that Israel aimed to reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip, saying the aim of the operation was to "deal a hard blow to the Hamas terrorist infrastructure" and improve security for Israelis in the south who have suffered eight years of rocket attacks. Despite the ground offensive, Palestinian gunmen managed to fire some 50 rockets and mortars into southern Israel yesterday.
Despite a ruling by Israel's supreme court last week, ordering the state to permit the entry of eight foreign journalists into Gaza to cover the conflict, Israel has not allowed any journalists into the war zone.
With diplomatic efforts to end the violence still at an early stage, Israeli president Shimon Peres downplayed prospects for an early truce. "We shall not accept the idea that Hamas will continue to fire and we shall declare a ceasefire. It does not make any sense," Mr Peres said.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in the region today for ceasefire discussions. The European Union pledged €3 million in emergency aid to the Gaza Strip yesterday, as a high-level EU delegation, comprising of the foreign ministers of France and Sweden, together with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, left for the region.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen condemned Israel's military action and urged an immediate ceasefire. He called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza and also demanded that Hamas end its rocket attacks on Israel. He stressed the need for "real political progress" in relation to efforts to establish "an independent and free homeland" for Palestinians.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin described the Israeli incursion as an "extremely dangerous escalation" of the situation.
The Czech Republic, which took over the EU presidency on Thursday, urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. "It is absolutely necessary that the violence has to stop," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
EU Development Affairs Commissioner Louis Michel said that the situation for Gaza's 1.5 million people was becoming daily more desperate. "I call on the Israeli authorities to respect their international obligations . . . for the delivery of vital relief," Mr Michel said.