Israeli offensive in Gaza intensifies despite progress in talks
15/01/2009 12:31 GAZA, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - Israeli troops intensified their relentless assault on Gaza City on Thursday entering a densely populated suburb despite reported progress in Egypt-mediated ceasefire talks.
The advance into the Tel Hawwa neighborhood and the shelling of downtown Gaza City came as Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad arrived in Cairo for talks on an Egyptian peace plan which reportedly calls for an "immediate ceasefire and acceptance of withdrawal" of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli aircraft struck some 70 targets overnight, including weapons depots, rocket squads and a mosque in southern Gaza that was used to store arms, killing at least 35 Hamas militants, the military said.
Thousands of Gaza residents are reported to be fleeing their homes amid gunfire, explosions and clouds of smoke.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza that started on December 27 has so far killed over 1,000 Palestinians and wounded over 4,000. Israel's casualties have been estimated at 13 people, including 10 military personnel.
Despite international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that Israel will only call a halt to its operations in Gaza if Palestinian militants stop firing rockets on Israel's southern territories and cease smuggling arms into the enclave of 1.5 million.
Hamas insists on an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, in effect since the radical Islamist group seized the territory of the Palestinian enclave in June 2007, and an opening up of crossing points for normal traffic.
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