Israel has expanded its air campaign to the southern Gaza Strip, aiming at smuggling tunnels running under the border with Egypt, a network that is Gaza's lifeline to the outside world. Israeli officials suggested the Jewish state was nearing the end of its offensive, which has killed hundreds of civilians, despite having last week waved off a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.
Israeli troops and Hamas fighters battled in some of their heaviest clashes yet and Palestinians in the densely populated neighborhoods of Gaza City
fled their homes in the face of advancing Israeli troops.
Israeli warplanes bombed more than 60 targets throughout Gaza overnight and into morning, hitting arms depots and smuggling tunnels as well as a mosque that was allegedly used to store weapons and train fighters, the army said, causing mass panic as dozens of Palestinians attempted to flee.
Troops that descended on the southern Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City encountered roadside bombs, mortar and gunfire from Palestinian fighters, witnesses said.
The troops withdrew at daybreak, but hundreds of panicked residents fled the area, clutching small children and hastily packed bags after a sleepless night.
The panic had intensified after the Israeli military dropped leaflets over Gaza City on Saturday to warn citizens that it planned to intensify its operations throughout the coastal strip.