Israel pushes farther into Gaza

by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and allvoices.com. Nasra Ismail reported from Jerusalem
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Sunday, January 4, 2009; 11:16 AM

JERUSALEM, Jan. 4 -- Israeli ground forces backed by air and naval power moved into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, bisecting the northern and southern sections and targeting areas from which Hamas fighters are launching rockets, according to witnesses and Israeli military officials.

This Story

• Israeli Forces Push Farther Into the Gaza Strip
• ANALYSIS: Invasion Offers Benefits but Also Risks to Both Sides
• Attacks Further Split Arab Rulers, People
• Conflict in Gaza Continues
• Israel and Hamas at War

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One Israeli soldier was killed in "a heavy exchange of fire" involving mortars and guns during a battle close to the Jabalya refugee camp, a Hamas stronghold. Another Israeli soldier was severely wounded in the same incident, which unfolded around 1 p.m. Sunday, an Israeli military spokesman said.

It was Israel's first fatality in the ground invasion, which began Saturday night and followed a week-long air assault on Gaza. Five other Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded Sunday afternoon, and 30 other troops had been wounded overnight, including an officer and a soldier who received severe injuries. The Israeli military said "dozens of Hamas" fighters had been hit since the ground offensive began.

Israeli military officials said forces were taking over strategic areas in order to decrease attacks on southern Israel, where more than 500 rockets have landed over the nine days of fighting. A senior Israeli military officer, speaking to foreign journalists in a conference call, said Israel was prepared to control those areas as long as needed to stop the rocket launches.

"We are not speaking about recapturing the Gaza Strip," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This is not our objective. If we have to hold those areas, to stop the rockets, we will do this."

Israeli troops appeared to be engaging Hamas fighters, but the conflict had yet to reach the level of pitched urban warfare. "I would say that most of the resistance we faced is from mortars and other things but not from fierce Hamas fighting," the official said.

Some of "other things," he added, were improvised explosive devices.

His comments came before the clash that killed the Israeli soldier.

The official cautioned that the ground offensive would not end "in hours or a few days." He described the terrain as "challenging" and "well prepared by Hamas" during the six-month cease-fire with Israel.

"There are a lot of obstacles on the ground. Hamas is using methods that were imported from Iran and Hezbollah," he said, referring to the Lebanese Shiite militia. Those methods, he added, were "guerrilla concepts and tactics, exploiting both open areas and those of highest density of population." He did not provide specific details on Hamas's strategy.

The official also sought to downplay Israeli expectations, saying that the military does not expect to "zero-ize" the number of the rockets landing in Israel, but rather only to decrease the number.

Indeed, by Sunday afternoon, more than 30 rockets had landed on southern Israel around the border towns of Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim. One missile struck a house in Sderot, injuring a woman, said the Israeli military.

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» This Story:Read +|Watch +| Comments Related Israeli Forces Push Farther Into the Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM, Jan. 4 -- Israeli ground forces backed by air and naval power moved into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, bisecting the northern and southern sections and targeting areas from which Hamas fighters are launching rockets, according to witnesses and Israeli military officials. Israeli Forces Enter Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 -- Israel launched a major ground invasion of the Gaza Strip on Saturday night, moving in tanks, infantry and artillery units after eight days of relentless air attacks failed to halt Hamas rocket fire from the narrow coastal territory.

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POSTED BY BIODUNIGINLA AT 5:11 PM LABELS: BIODUN IGINLA ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, GAZA ATTACKS