Israel splits Gaza in two as offensive continues
World leaders have expressed concern at Israel's ground offensive
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Sunday, 04, Jan 2009 09:20
Israel is pressing on with its ground offensive in Gaza, effectively splitting the territory into two.
Troops and tanks have surrounded Gaza City in the north of the Strip as air strikes continued.
In the 24 hours since bombings were followed by the movement of troops into the territory, up to 39 Palestiniansare reported to have been killed.
This puts the total number of civilians killed in Gaza since airstrikes began on December 27th at around 500.
Militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is seeking to repeat the military success of Hizbullah following the Israeli offensive into southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
A statement by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said: The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip according to plan in order to reduce the rocket fire on the south of Israel."
It has vowed to turn Gaza into a "cemetery" for Israeli forces but is not believed to have engaged in face-to-face fighting, instead using mortars, rockets and improvised explosive devices against the advancing Israeli forces.
The Associated Press news agency reported five members of the same family were killed when a tank shell hit the car they were travelling in.
World leaders have called for an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza but the international community has struggled to come up with a collective condemnation of Israeli attacks.
The UN security council was unable to agree the wording of a statement despite the strongly worded concerns expressed by secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.
He has called for an immediate end to the ground offensive in the area and urged Israel to ensure that civilians were protected in Gaza and that humanitarian aid reached those in need.
Foreign secretary David Miliband said there was an "urgent need" for a "durable ceasefire" which would ensure an end to arms smuggling into Gaza and the opening of crossings into the territory.
And US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said that the US was in favour of a ceasefire but did not want a return to a situation where Hamas could fire rockets on Israeli territory.
She called for a "durable and sustainable" ceasefire and blamed Hamas' rejection of an extension to a six-month long ceasefire as the reason for the outbreak of violence between the two countries.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the region tomorrow in an effort to boost diplomatic efforts to end violence in the area. A European Union delegation is also set to accompany the French leader on the visit.
Israel previously warned that a ground operation could last "many days". Khaled Meshaal, the exiled Hamas leader, said a "black destiny" awaited Israel if it launched the ground offensive now underway.