Israeli tanks and soldiers invade Gaza Strip
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas fighters who have defied eight days of deadly air strikes with salvoes of rocket fire into Israeli towns.
Israeli tanks killed seven Gazans at the onset of the night-time invasion, bringing the Palestinian death toll since December 27 to more than 450, medical officials said.
Israel said it called up tens of thousands of reservists and the military's chief spokesman estimated the operation in the Hamas-run enclave could take "many long days."
Wearing night-vision goggles on their helmets and camouflage paint on their faces, Israeli ground troops entered the Gaza Strip along with columns of tanks that pushed into the coastal territory from four points.
Heavy casualties are likely to increase international pressure on Israel to halt its biggest operation in the Gaza Strip in four decades, fighting that holds significant political risks for Israeli leaders ahead of a February 10 national election.
The plight of the 1.5 million Palestinians crammed into Gaza was growing more desperate. People have taken shelter in their homes for days and humanitarian agencies warned that water and medical supplies were running short.
The United Nations Security Council scheduled a special meeting for 2400 GMT to discuss the latest developments.
Several hours into the armored offensive, Israeli tanks moved some two kms (1.2 miles) into the northern Gaza Strip, taking up positions in an area frequently used by militants to fire rockets across the border, witnesses said.
A Palestinian petrol station along the invasion route was engulfed in flames after being hit by a tank shell.
A spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said Israeli troops faced certain death or capture. "The Zionist enemy must know his battle in Gaza is a losing one," said the spokesman, Abu Ubaida.
At least a quarter of the 453 Palestinians killed in the current conflict have been civilians, a U.N. agency said. Another 2,050 Palestinians have been wounded. A leading Palestinian rights group put the number at 40 percent.
Four Israelis have been killed by rockets that continue to pound southern Israel, where residents have been told to stay home and take cover in rooms made of reinforced concrete.
HOME FRONT
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the aim of the ground push was to "protect the home front" from rocket attacks. He stopped short in a televised address of making any threat to try to topple the Hamas government in the enclave.
"It won't be easy. It won't be short," said Barak, leader of the center-left Labour party, and a candidate for prime minister in an election that opinion polls predict will return right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu to power. Continued...
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