War in Gaza:Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants battled on Gaza city's outskirts yesterday after Israeli troops and tanks invaded the coastal enclave in the worst fighting in the conflict in decades.
Israeli tanks and troops virtually cut Gaza in half in a night-time advance and by yesterday morning were ringing Gaza city itself, Palestinian witnesses said.
Tank shells killed at least five Palestinian civilians and wounded 40 when they exploded in Gaza city's main shopping area, hospital staff and witnesses said.
In Beit Lahiya, 12 Palestinians were killed, at least two of them fighters but also four members of a family when a shell hit their home. A bystander was killed in an attack on the central Gazan town of Deir al Balah.
A man and his two teenage sons were reported killed in an attack on Rafah, where Palestinians have built many tunnels to smuggle in arms and other goods.
Israel said 30 of its soldiers had been wounded since the start of the ground assault.
Israeli aircraft struck dozens of targets, including arms-smuggling tunnels, weapons depots and mortar squads.
"During exchanges of fire overnight, dozens of armed Hamas operatives were hit," an Israeli military communique said.
A spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said Israeli troops faced death or capture.
"The Zionist enemy must know his battle in Gaza is a losing one," spokesman Abu Ubaida said. - (Reuters)