Agencies
Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli army pushed ahead with its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with tanks and infantry battling Hamas fighters.
Hamas said that Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian fighters in the outskirts of Gaza City. In northern Gaza, Israeli mortar attacks reportedly killed eight Palestinians.
An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Israeli army said, the first Israeli fatality announced by the military since it began a ground operation in the Hamas-run enclave on Saturday.
Earlier, Hamas said it captured two Israeli soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and was holding them hostage.
Israeli ground forces have pushed deep into the coastal strip since beginning a ground offensive late on Saturday and have surrounded Gaza City.
The attack on Gaza has left more than 400 people dead and many more injured and has been condemned by many Arabs around the world.
Israeli army said that 30 of its soldiers have been wounded in the ground offensive.
Palestinian medical officials said Israeli ground forces had killed eight Gazans, five of them gunmen, bringing the death toll to 450.
On Sunday, the Egyptian presidency issued a statement condemning Israel’s ground offensive and called for an end to Israel’s “savage aggression”.
Egypt said it “places the onus on Israel for the innocent civilians martyred and wounded.”
Countries failed to agree on a UN resolution on Saturday, with the United States shooting down a Libyan proposal to the Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The US State Department said a ceasefire should take place “as soon as possible”, in a statement that urged Israel to be “mindful of the potential consequences to civilians” but did not refer directly to the invasion or call for an immediate truce.
Courtesy: gulfnews.com
