Israel deaf to truce calls as Gaza battles rage on

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops backed by air strikes fought to seize ground from Hamas militants deep inside the Gaza Strip on Monday despite international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict that has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days.

More than 30 civilians, including children, were killed on Monday, the third day of an Israeli ground offensive, medics said. Israel said it killed dozens of Islamist guerrillas as the battle crept into the suburbs of the city of Gaza itself.

Frightened families huddled in rooms away from windows: "Until now I was not afraid," a Reuters journalist said from his home in the city of 500,000. "I am afraid now and my daughter is trembling the whole time. No place seems to be safe."

Israel's defense minister said the assault, which he hopes can stem rocket fire on its own towns, could get harder for troops. They were edging forward, wary of Hamas's quest for more captives to join a soldier used as a bargaining chip since 2006.

Hamas vowed to fight on in "every street, every alley" and threatened to fire more missiles across the border into Israel. Threats to resume suicide bombings have yet to materialize.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a peace mission to the Middle East, and U.S. President George W. Bush, in his final weeks in the White House, both appealed for a ceasefire.

But disagreement on who should stop shooting first and on what terms made the chances of an immediate pause seem remote.

The reminder of conflict stubbornly rooted at the heart of the Middle East helped drive oil prices up 5 percent and analysts questioned whether there was any prospect of a peace that has eluded Israel and the Palestinians for over 60 years.

Israel, whose leaders are fighting a parliamentary election on February 10, made clear its priority was to secure the safety of its citizens. Hamas called for a lifting of the blockade of the enclave, crammed with 1.5 million people whose lives are growing ever more squalid. Many lack food, water or power.

The death toll in Gaza rose to at least 541 people. Among Monday's 33 civilian victims were 13 members of a Palestinian family killed in an Israeli strike on their home in a refugee camp, Palestinian medical officials said.

BATTLE RAGES

Israel launched the offensive after Hamas called off a six-month truce last month and stepped up its rocket attacks in response to Israel's raids and blockade of the enclave, which the Jewish state occupied from 1967 to 2005.

Israeli soldiers and Islamist militants fought throughout the day and into the night on Monday. Militants fired mortars and grenades and detonated mines and tried to lure Israeli soldiers into built-up areas, witnesses said.

Although Israel allowed in 80 trucks of supplies on Monday, people badly needed food, medical supplies and other aid but the hostilities were hampering relief efforts, aid agencies said.

The Israeli air force bombed dozens of targets, including homes of Hamas members used as weapons depots.